KARACHI: Pakistan and China are holding a virtual meeting of the 13th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) today, Friday, with the security of Chinese organizations and personnel working in the South Asian nation expected to be at the top of the agenda.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan but both separatist and other militants have attacked Chinese projects in recent months, killing Chinese personnel, including five Chinese workers who perished in a suicide attack on Mar. 26 while on their way to the Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan’s northwest.
The hydropower project falls under the ambit of CPEC, a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative through which it has pledged more than $65 billion for road, rail and other infrastructure developments in the South Asian nation of 241 million people. Pakistan has said more than 50 projects worth $25 billion under the CPEC umbrella have been completed since the project was launched in 2015.
On Friday, the 13th JCC meeting formally began with a minute of silence in honor of the Chinese nationals killed in the March suicide bombing, with Pakistan’s planning ministry describing them as “heroes of Pakistan” whose contributions had supported the realization of CPEC.
“China and Pakistan have embarked on a journey of shared dreams working hand in hand to build high-quality development projects,” Pakistani Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in his opening remarks at the meeting. “It is heartening to note the steady progress CPEC has made since its inception in 2013.”
He lauded President Xi Jinping’s vision to forge an “upgraded version” of CPEC and turn it into a growth, livelihood-enhancing, innovation, green and regional connectivity corridor to align it with Pakistan’s 5E socio-economic framework approved last year for the promotion of exports, energy, environment, equity and empowerment.
“We are ready to work with NDRC [National Development and Reform Commission of China] to finalize the scope and implementation plan on these corridors,” Iqbal added.
The minister detailed a number of projects completed so far under CPEC, including the construction of around 888 kilometers of motorways and highways. He said an 884-megawatt hydropower project at Sukhi Kinari, worth $1.7 billion, was under construction and expected to be commissioner later this year.
Three hydel power projects and one coal-based Gwadar power project with a generation capacity of 2,100 megawatts were in advanced stages of completion, Iqbal added.
Beijing has also over the years readily provided financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor, including in July last year when China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.
But Chinese projects and interests have also increasingly come under attack in recent years.
The Dasu assault in March was the third major one in a little over a week on China’s interests and followed a Mar. 20 attack on a strategic port used by China in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where Beijing has poured billions of dollars into infrastructure projects including a deep-sea port, and a Mar. 25 assault on a naval air base, also in the southwest.
Both attacks were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan.
Dasu, the site of a major dam, has been attacked in the past, with a bus blast in 2021 killing 13 people, nine Chinese among them, although no group claimed responsibility, like the Mar. 26 bombing.
Pakistan is home to twin insurgencies, one mounted by religiously-motivated militants and the other by ethnic separatists who seek secession, blaming the government’s inequitable division of natural resources in southwestern Balochistan province.
Chinese interests are mostly under attack primarily by ethnic militants seeking to push Beijing out of mineral-rich Balochistan, but that area is far from the site of the Mar. 26 bombing.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s top economic body approved $2.5 million in compensation for families of Chinese workers who were killed in the Mar. 26 Dasu attack.
Security of Chinese workers tops agenda as Islamabad, Beijing hold key investment meeting
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Security of Chinese workers tops agenda as Islamabad, Beijing hold key investment meeting
- Pakistan has said over 50 projects worth $25 billion under CPEC umbrella completed since 2015
- Chinese interests increasingly under attack in recent years by separatist and other militant groups
Government accuses ex-PM Khan party of sponsoring resolutions in US to halt Pakistan military aid
- Spokesman says Khan’s party began a ‘concentrated smear campaign’ against Pakistan in foreign countries following his ouster in 2022
- The House Rules committee declared the resolutions against the facts and set them aside after Foreign Office intervention, Aqeel Malik adds
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government on Sunday accused former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of hiring lobbyist firms in the United States (US) to move resolutions in the Congress that sought to halt Pakistan’s military aid.
The PTI began a “concentrated smear campaign” against Pakistan in foreign countries after the ouster of Khan in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022, according to Aqeel Malik, a Pakistani government spokesman.
The resolutions tabled last year urged Washington to limit US military assistance to Pakistan until the South Asian country ensured free and fair elections, and independent judiciary and reasserted separation of powers.
Speaking at a press conference, Malik said these resolutions had been sponsored by Khan’s party to promote “anti-Pakistan agenda and narrative,” but the US House of Representatives rejected them.
“In the amendments submitted, they [PTI] said that Pakistan’s security and other assistance should be stopped and requested the secretary of state to submit a report in which human rights violations in Pakistan, other assessments and any irregularities should also be reported,” he said.
“Our Foreign Office had this campaign neutralized, set aside and defeated it. These three amendments were dropped because the House Rules committee declared them against the facts.”
He criticized the PTI for shaping an anti-US narrative in Pakistan following the ouster of Khan from the PM’s office and yet hiring lobbyist firms to promote “anti-Pakistan agenda and narrative” in the US.
In a post on X, the PTI said Congressman Ro Khanna’s call for the US to sanction Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, and other military leaders over transnational repression marked a “crucial turning point.”
“The international community can no longer ignore the blatant human rights abuses and systemic corruption that plague Pakistan. The recent rigged election, with Imran Khan still unjustly imprisoned, is a testament to the military’s stranglehold on the country,” it said.
In the last several months, the PTI has sought support from US lawmakers in investigating alleged rights abuses and crackdown on its supporters in the wake of Khan’s unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s powerful military.
In May 2023, 65 congressmen wrote a letter to the US Secretary of Defense to prioritize the promotion of protection of human rights and democracy in Pakistan, according to Malik.
Eleven congressmen wrote a letter to US Secretary of State in November last year to suspend US assistance to Pakistan, while 31 others wrote to the US secretary of state and the president to not recognize the Pakistani government formed after February 2024 election.
Khan’s PTI was severely hamstrung ahead of the February 8 polls, with rallies banned, its party symbol taken away, and dozens of its candidates rejected from eligibility to stand. Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan, who has been in jail since last August, says all cases against him are politically motivated to keep him out of politics.
Pakistan’s Sindh government teams up with local NGO to provide artificial limb to camel after leg amputation
- A landlord in Sindh’s Sanghar district allegedly chopped off the camel’s leg after it trespassed on his field
- Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon confirms five people have been arrested for involvement in crime
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s Sindh province has been working closely with a local non-government organization (NGO) for the treatment and rehabilitation of a camel, whose leg was chopped off by a local landlord this week, an official of the NGO taking care of the animal said on Sunday.
The development came after local media widely reported that a landlord in Mund Jamrao village in Sindh’s Sanghar district had allegedly chopped off the camel’s leg for trespassing on his field seeking fodder.
The owner of the camel, a poor peasant named Soomar Behan, was contacted by police after the episode went viral on social media, but he refused to file a complaint against the landlord following which police took action.
Five people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the crime, with Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon confirming that a case had been registered against the suspects for amputating the camel on the state’s behalf.
On Saturday, CDRS Benji, a non-profit working for stray and injured animals in Pakistan, provided treatment to the camel at one of its shelters in the provincial capital of Karachi.
“The Sindh government has been working closely with the CDRS Benji project for the treatment and rehabilitation of the camel,” Sarah Jahangir, a CDRS Benji director, told Arab News.
“They [Sindh government] have brought in a team from BIONIKS Pakistan to prepare an artificial limb.”
She said the 8-month-old female camel was in acute pain and everyone was coming together to help the camel because the prosthetic would take time as it needed around two months for the wound to heal before proper measurements could be taken.
“We are trying to heal her infection and soothe her pain with heavy painkillers, antibiotics and other medications,” Jahangir added.
Anas Niaz, cofounder of Pakistan’s BIONIKS biotechnology startup, said his organization was trying to make the limb for the camel.
“We are working on the limb for the camel as right now it needed to heal, which will take around 1-2 months time and after that rehabilitation of the camel will start,” he told Arab News.
“As the camel will need replacement from time to time, this will be an ongoing process that we are actively managing.”
BIONIKS said it was dedicated to the well-being of the camel in need and its team, led by co-founder and CEO Ovais Hussain Qureshi, visited the camel’s shelter in Karachi to assess its condition and provide assistance.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure the affected camel’s mobility and comfort until its wounds are fully healed,” it said. “Our efforts aim to alleviate the affected camel’s suffering and promote its recovery, demonstrating our unwavering dedication to the animal.”
Section 429 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) states that anyone who kills, poisons, maims, or renders useless any animal of the value of ten rupees or upwards, shall be punished with imprisonment of either a term of up to two years or be fined for the offense, or both.
Sindh Information Minister Memon earlier confirmed the registration of a case against the suspects, describing the amputation as a “humanely unacceptable” act.
“While the police is still doing its work, proper medical treatment is being provided to the poor animal,” Shazia Ata Marri, a Pakistani lawmaker from Sanghar, wrote on X.
CDRS Benji said its staff had cleaned the camel’s wound to make sure it was not infected.
“Cammie the camel is settling into her new home,” the NGO wrote on Facebook with a video showing the camel feeding, a white bandage wrapped around her leg.
“She is in pain, and it was traumatizing for her to be carried into the shelter. But she is eating now and taking in everything around her with those beautiful, intelligent eyes.”
Pakistan PM conveys Eid Al-Adha greetings to Bahrain’s king, other Muslim rulers
- Eid Al-Adha marks Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son on God’s command
- The three-day event is one of the two major Muslim festivals on the Islamic calendar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday conveyed Eid Al-Adha greetings to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and other Muslim rulers.
Several Muslim countries, mainly in the Middle East, marked the three-day Eid Al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, on Sunday, while others will celebrate the occasion on Monday. It commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, as recounted in the Holy Qur’an.
Sharif held a telephonic conversation with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa and exchanged warm greetings on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, according to the Pakistan PM’s office.
“The two leaders expressed their mutual respect and admiration for the strong historical ties between Pakistan and Bahrain, built on shared values and cultural affinities,” it said in a statement.
“The Prime Minister acknowledged and appreciated Bahrain’s support and cooperation in various fields over the years. In particular, he thanked His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his respect and affection toward Pakistan.”
The three-day festival of Eid Al-Adha is one of the two most important festivals on the Islamic calendar. Muslims celebrate the occasion by slaughtering animals such as cattle and goats and share their meat among family and friends and the poor.
In his telephonic conversation with Tajikistan’s president, Sharif and Emomali Rahmon greeted each other on Eid and expressed their wishes for peace, prosperity, and development of both countries.
“The two leaders also expressed satisfaction at the positive trajectory of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their shared desire to enhance ties in through trade, energy, and connectivity,” Sharif’s office said.
“Both leaders also discussed the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Astana and reiterated their commitment to strengthen mutually beneficial regional integration and cooperation.”
During another phone call, Sharif and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev exchanged Eid wishes and reviewed recent developments in bilateral relations, especially in the domain of trade, defense and energy.
“They expressed satisfaction on the positive trajectory of relations and agreed to continue working closely to further strengthen bilateral ties to match the political goodwill that exists between both countries,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
“In addition, they also discussed ways to deal with common challenges, especially climate change. The Prime Minister congratulated Azerbaijan for hosting the COP29 in Baku later this year and thanked President Aliyev for extending a personal invitation to him to participate in the event.”
Sharif also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and conveyed his best wishes to him on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.
“They reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, defense, and tourism,” Sharif’s office said.
“The Prime Minister and the President also discussed ways to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and beyond.”
Pakistani Taliban announce three-day ceasefire with government on Eid Al-Adha
- The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban
- In recent months, TTP has claimed a number of attacks mainly in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Taliban on Sunday announced a three-day ceasefire with the government in Islamabad on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, amid a renewed surge in militant violence in the South Asian country.
The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. They have been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
In recent months, the Pakistani Taliban have claimed a number of attacks and are suspected by officials in several others, mainly in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that borders Afghanistan.
In its statement, the TTP said its leader, Mufti Abu Mansoor Asim, announced the ceasefire on June 17-19, which correspond with the three-day Eid festival, on the “demand of the Pakistani people.”
“Therefore, all institutions and Mujahideen of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan should obey the above orders,” the group said in a statement. “If an action is taken by the [Pakistani] army and security agencies on this occasion, then all Mujahideen should ensure their self-defense.”
Similarly, the group said, its leader had issued a decree to reduce the sentences of all “prisoners” held by the TTP by two months.
Pakistan has witnessed a spike in militant violence in its two western provinces, KP and Balochistan, since the Pakistani Taliban called off their fragile, months-long truce with the government in November 2022.
Pakistan says Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are giving shelter to TTP fighters across the unruly border. The Afghan Taliban government insists it doesn’t allow anyone to use Afghan soil for violence in any country.
Ireland recover to set Pakistan target of 107 in T20 World Cup
- Both teams have already been eliminated from tournament with India and USA taking top two group spots
- While nothing is at stake in the contest, Pakistan will be keen to finish above Canada in the third place
LAUDERHILL: T20 World Cup cricket was finally played in Florida on Sunday, at the fourth attempt, with Pakistan restricting Ireland to 106-9 in the final game in Group A.
The Irish had been struggling at 32-6 in the seventh over and will hope their seamers can also take advantage of help from the Lauderhill surface.
After the first three games at the venue were all abandoned because heavy rains caused a waterlogged outfield, the overwhelmingly pro-Pakistan crowd were rewarded with some top class opening bowling.
Left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi did the bulk of the damage picking up three early wickets as Ireland’s top order was ripped apart.
The Irish, who have not been able to practice for the past week due to wet facilities, were in deep trouble at 32-6 with seamer Mohammad Amir also picking up two wickets on a surface that was offering plenty for the quick bowlers.
But Gareth Delany provided some much needed resistance for the Irish, blasting three sixes as he made 31 from 19 balls.
Delany’s entertaining knock — and a 44 run partnership with Mark Adair — came to an end when Imad Wasim’s slow left-arm spin found the edge and Shabad Khan ran in from point to make the catch.
Adair tried to keep the momentum going but he departed for 15 when he slogged Imad to long on and Afridi held on to the catch despite Usman Khan colliding with him.
All-rounder Imad picked up his third wicket bowling Barry McCarthy but Josh Little provided some valuable lower order runs with his unbeaten 22 taking Ireland to three figures.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam had won the toss and chose to bowl.
Both teams have already been eliminated from the tournament with India and the USA taking the top two group spots and places in the Super Eights stage.
While nothing is at stake in the contest, in terms of qualification, bottom-placed Ireland will be seeking their first win of the competition. Pakistan will be keen to finish above Canada in third place.
