ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has formed a committee to prepare a plan for the establishment of Dasu-Chilas Safe City Project to ensure foolproof security of Chinese nationals working in the country’s northwest, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Saturday.
The decision was made at a meeting Naqvi presided over in Islamabad to review security of the Chinese and other foreigners. the newly formed committee will present its recommendations in 15 days.
The development came two months after five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide attack while they were on their way to the Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The hydropower project falls under the ambit of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, for which it has pledged more than $65 billion for road, rail and other infrastructure developments in Pakistan.
“The prime minister has instructed that Daso-Chilas safe city be established. It will be established according to modern requirements like the project’s establishment in Islamabad and Lahore,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry.
“The aim of safe city is not just to install cameras, but it would be a system equipped with modern technology and artificial intelligence tools. Through this project, the surveillance and security of this area will be ensured.”
The committee, which includes Islamabad police chief, Hazara regional police officer and a Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) representative, will jointly prepare a comprehensive plan in this regard, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.
Chinese projects and interests have increasingly come under attack in recent years. The Dasu assault in March was the third major one in a little over a week on Chinese interests in Pakistan.
It 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, 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.
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.
Pakistan to establish safe city project for security of Chinese workers in its northwest
https://arab.news/96u87
Pakistan to establish safe city project for security of Chinese workers in its northwest
- The development comes two months after five Chinese workers, Pakistani driver were killed in suicide attack on their vehicle
- The assault near the Dasu hydropower project was the third major one in a little over a week on Chinese interests in Pakistan
Pakistan cuts petrol price by a meagre Rs1.8 per liter
- The South Asian country revises petroleum prices every fortnight
- Latest decrease unlikely to offer any relief to inflation-hit Pakistanis
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has cut the price of petrol by Rs1.8 per liter, the information ministry announced late Saturday.
Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight. After the latest revision, petrol will now cost Rs259.10 per liter.
The price of high-speed diesel went down by Rs3.32 to Rs262.75 per liter.
“The new prices will take effect from September 1, 2024,” the information ministry said in a statement.
The government also reduced the price of kerosene oil by Rs2.15 to Rs169.62 per liter, while light diesel oil went down by Rs2.97 to Rs154.05 per liter.
In Pakistan, petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers while any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
However, the negligible decrease in petrol and diesel prices is unlikely to provide much relief to the inflation-stricken Pakistanis.
Pakistan expects more jobs, higher exports as Chinese company plans renewable energy investment
- China’s Hexing Electrical is known for its presence in the global smart metering and energy management industry
- Its management plans to set up the first manufacturing unit of its kind in Pakistan to produce inverters, batteries
ISLAMABAD: A leading Chinese company has expressed interest in investing in Pakistan’s renewable energy sector by setting up an industry, said an official statement on Saturday, prompting a senior minister to observe the step will lead to greater employment opportunities and increase the country’s exports.
China’s Hexing Electrical is a reputable mid-sized company that was founded in 1992 and is primarily known for its presence in the global smart metering and energy management industry. The Chinese company has also expanded its business into the renewable energy sector and is involved in the manufacturing of technical equipment.
Its chairman, Liangzhang Zhou, met Pakistan’s minister for investment and privatization, Abdul Aleem Khan, along with his company delegation in the federal capital, Islamabad, to discuss the possibility of setting up the first manufacturing unit of its kind in the country to produce inverters and batteries.
The development comes nearly two months after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went to China on a five-day visit where, apart from the political leadership, he met with representatives of Chinese companies operating in various economic sectors and encouraged them to invest in his country.
“The establishment of new factories will increase the rate of employment and export in the country and once again boost the national economy as well,” he was quoted as saying in a statement circulated by the ministry after the meeting.
Khan highlighted the investment potential in Pakistan, assuring the Chinese business delegation of full cooperation.
He also maintained that the establishment of factories in the electrical sector with foreign investment would serve as a precursor to the country’s economic development.
The chairman of the Chinese company said his organization was serving 90 countries with a workforce of 7,000, though it had only established such factories in 20 states around the world.
The governments in Islamabad and Beijing have already been working on infrastructure development and regional connectivity projects under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The two countries hope the private sector will take the lead in the next CPEC phase and benefit from the planned industrial zones in Pakistan through business-to-business collaboration and investments.
Senior army officer, relatives released days after kidnapping in northwest Pakistan — military
- Lt Col Khalid Ameer was visiting ancestral village in Dera Ismail Khan for his father’s funeral when he was abducted
- Military says tribal elders played role in ‘safe and unconditional’ release of the officer and three of his relatives
KARACHI: A senior army officer and three of his relatives, who were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, safely returned to their home on Saturday, the Pakistani military said.
The army officer, Lt. Col. Khalid Ameer, was on a visit to his ancestral village in Kulachi area of the Dera Ismail Khan district for the funeral of his father, when he was abducted along with three other relatives on Wednesday, according to police.
In a statement issued late Saturday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing, confirmed securing their “safe and unconditional” release.
“Safe and unconditional release of Lt Col Khalid Ameer and three of his other relatives has been secured due to role played by tribal elders and local notables,” the ISPR said. “All the abductees have safely returned home.”
The military statement had no mention of the kidnappers, but the northwestern Pakistani region has witnessed a surge in militant activities by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups in recent months.
This month, two policemen were killed when a convoy of judges came under attack in the region, according to police. In February, 10 policemen were killed and six others injured in an attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan.
In April last year, Judge Shakirullah Marwat was abducted by unidentified kidnappers near a village at the junction of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts, but was recovered after a few days.
Pakistan has faced deadly attacks by the TTP since an uneasy, months-long truce with the group collapsed in November 2022.
Islamabad blames the latest surge in violence on neighboring Afghanistan, saying Pakistani Taliban militants have taken refuge there and run camps to train insurgents to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Kabul says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue of Islamabad and it does not allow militants to operate on its territory.
Islamabad police ban public gatherings in view of ‘elevated security concerns’
- The development comes a week before a rally by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party in Islamabad
- Islamabad police say the restriction has been imposed to maintain public order and ensure safety of all citizens
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have imposed a ban on public gatherings in the federal capital in view of “elevated security concerns,” Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
The South Asian country has been witnessing a surge in militant attacks, including a string of coordinated assaults launched last Sunday that killed more than 50 people in the southwestern Balochistan province.
To prohibit any public gathering, the Islamabad police said they had imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a provision that allows authorities to prohibit assembly of four or more people.
“These restrictions are designed to maintain public order and ensure the safety of all citizens,” an Islamabad police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the state-run APP news agency.
The report did not specify how long the restriction would be in place.
The development also comes a week before a rally by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party in Islamabad on September 8. The rally was initially planned for July to build pressure for Khan’s release from prison following his arrest over a year ago, but the party had rescheduled it for August 22.
The PTI once again postponed the gathering this month after the Islamabad administration denied permission for the event, citing security threats and a lack of resources with security agencies.
The capital police urged the public to avoid participating in any “unauthorized” political activities that could disrupt the law-and-order environment, according to the APP report.
“We ask everyone to cooperate with these measures to help us maintain peace and security,” the police spokesperson said.
Brazil joins Pakistan, other nations in banning X social network
- Beyond permanent bans, some nations have temporarily restricted access to X
- Formerly Twitter, X has often been used by political dissidents to communicate
PARIS: With its ban of X, which went into effect on Saturday, Brazil joins a small club of countries to have taken similar measures against the social network, most of them run by authoritarian regimes.
Beyond permanent bans, some nations have temporarily restricted access to X, formerly Twitter, which has often been used by political dissidents to communicate.
These have included Egypt in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings, Turkiye in 2014 and 2023, and Uzbekistan around that country’s 2021 presidential election.
Here is a list of some of the others:
China
Beijing banned Twitter in June 2009 — before it secured the prominent place it enjoyed in Western media and politics for much of the 2010s.
The block came two days before the 20-year anniversary of the government’s crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital’s Tiananmen Square.
Since then, many Chinese people have turned to home-grown alternatives such as Weibo and WeChat.
Iran
Twitter was also blocked by Tehran in 2009, as a wave of demonstrations broke out following a contested June presidential election.
The network has nevertheless been used since then to pass information to the outside world about dissident movements, including the demonstrations against Iran’s repression of women’s rights since late 2022.
Turkmenistan
Isolated Central Asian country Turkmenistan blocked Twitter in the early 2010s alongside many other foreign online services and websites.
Authorities in Ashgabat surveil closely citizens’ usage of the Internet, provided through state-run monopoly operator TurkmenTelecom.
North Korea
Pyongyang opened its own Twitter account in 2010 in a bid to woo foreigners interested in the country.
But the application has been blocked along with Facebook, YouTube and gambling and pornography websites since April 2016.
Internet access beyond a few government websites is under tight government watch in the hermit regime, with access restricted to a few high-ranking officials.
Myanmar
X has been blocked since February 2021, when authorities took aim at the app for its use by opponents of the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government.
Since then, the junta has kept a tight grip on Internet access in Myanmar.
Russia
Access to Twitter was throttled from 2021 by Moscow, which complained the site was allowing users to spread “illegal content.”
A formal ban came in March 2022, just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Many Russian users continue to connect to X via VPN services that allow them to get around the block.
Pakistan
X has been banned since parliamentary polls in February this year.
Pakistan’s government, backed by the army, say the block is for security reasons.
Former prime minister Imran Khan — now in jail — was targeted by widespread allegations of fraud spread via the platform against his opposition party.
Venezuela
Nicolas Maduro, who was declared winner of July’s presidential election despite grave suspicions of fraud, ordered access to X suspended for 10 days on August 9 as security forces were violently putting down nationwide demonstrations.
The block has remained in place beyond the expiry of the 10-day period.
Brazil
The country’s block on X has come from the judiciary, via Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes.
He has highlighted the reactivation of accounts that had been ordered suspended by Brazilian courts.
Users connecting to X via a VPN face a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) per day.
