KARACHI: A Chinese diplomat in Pakistan on Tuesday urged political parties and rights groups in the restive Balochistan province to “set aside” their differences and focus on construction and economic development of the region, which has seen violent protests since last week.
Thousands of people have gathered in Gwadar, home to a key Chinese-built deep seaport central to the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), since last week to participate in a Baloch rights movement, organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) group led by 31-year-old human rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch, on Sunday.
Tensions soared in the province on Saturday when more than a dozen protesters, enroute to Gwadar for Sunday’s public gathering, were injured in clashes with security forces in the Mastung district, officials and protesters said. The clashes took place amid a shutdown of Internet, mobile phone and broadband services in parts of Balochistan.
Gulzar Dost Baloch, a BYC member who was leading a caravan in Quetta, said supporters were leaving Mastung for Gwadar when “security forces attacked the buses with straight gun fire.” The BYC later said one protester was killed in the clashes, while the Pakistani army said on Monday that a Pakistani sepoy was killed and 16 others, including an officer, were injured in “unprovoked assaults.”
“Some people said that ‘without the stability of Balochistan, there’s no stability of Pakistan.’ So, I agree with this and this view,” Chinese Consul General Yang Yundong told reporters in Karachi, when asked about Beijing’s view on the protests in Balochistan.
“We hope that all the political parties and social organizations take their overall national interest into account and to set aside that difference and focus on construction and economic development and to take the people’s interest as a top priority.”
Gwadar, situated along the Arabian Sea, lies at the heart of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC), under which Beijing has funneled tens of billions of dollars into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
But the undertaking has been hit by Islamabad struggling to keep up its financial obligations as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country.
Yang said Gwadar was central to CPEC and noted the completion of several projects, including the new Gwadar International Airport, in the southwestern Pakistani city. He emphasized that China was committed “to develop Gwadar into a transshipment harbor.”
“Under Gwadar, Balochistan has great potential,” he said, highlighting the province’s mine and mineral wealth. “We will put that and the cooperation in the mining sectors as a breakthrough of our industry corporations. So hopefully and with the stabilization of the situations and with the consented efforts from both sides, from China, Pakistan, the CPEC will bring more tangible benefit to local peoples.”
Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the site of a low-level insurgency for the last two decades by separatists who say they are fighting what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s wealth by the federation.
The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it works for the uplift of the impoverished province. The government and army have often blamed neighbors India, Afghanistan and Iran of stoking tensions in Balochistan and funding the insurgency, which they deny.
The Chinese diplomat said the world was facing a new “period of turmoil and transformation,” with regional conflicts dragging on, and instability, uncertainty and unpredictability spreading globally.
“We want to build Balochistan into a more stable and prosperous province,” he said. “As all-weather strategic cooperative partners, China and Pakistan’s relationship has withstood the test of international changes and remains rock-solid and stable as Mount Himalayas.”
A month ago, Yang said, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had visited China where leaders of the two countries had reached a broad consensus on further deepening the strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan.
“Our two countries maintain close communication and exchanges at all levels and our relationship is very unique,” he added.
The Chinese consul general said the two sides would build on the achievements of CPEC and jointly develop five major corridors for growth, better life, innovation, green development and openness, creating an upgraded version of CPEC and aligning it with Pakistan’s ‘5Es’ framework that focuses on economy, energy, education, environment and equality in order to benefit the two countries and peoples.
“Without security, there is no guarantee for development,” he said, adding that during his meeting with PM Sharif, President Xi Jinping had clearly stated that China supported Pakistan’s fight against militancy and hoped Islamabad would continue to create a “safe, stable and predictable business environment,” ensuring the safety of Chinese people, projects and institutions in Pakistan.
“We firmly believe that with strong guidance from the high-level consensus of the two countries and joint efforts of relevant departments, security cooperation between the two countries will surely reach a higher level, creating a safe environment and providing reliable guarantees for the development of China-Pakistan relations,” Yang added.
Chinese envoy urges government, rights groups to ‘set aside’ differences amid Balochistan protests
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Chinese envoy urges government, rights groups to ‘set aside’ differences amid Balochistan protests
- Gwadar has been site of days-long protests against alleged rights abuses in Balochistan
- Province is at the heart of Beijing's investments in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
India reopens 32 airports after ceasefire with Pakistan
- From Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir to Bhuj in the western state of Gujarat, airports now available for civil operations “with immediate effect“
- They were closed last week after fierce fighting erupted between India and Pakistan for four days, setting off global alarm it could spiral into full-blown war
NEW DELHI: India reopened 32 airports on Monday following a weekend ceasefire that ended the worst fighting with neighboring Pakistan since 1999.
The Airport Authority of India said the 32 — from Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir to Bhuj in the western state of Gujarat — were now available for civil operations “with immediate effect.”
They were closed last week after fierce fighting erupted between India and Pakistan for four days, setting off global alarm it could spiral into full-blown war.
Leading Indian airline IndiGo said it would “progressively commence operations on the previously closed routes.”
The truce was announced on Saturday, but both sides immediately accused the other of breaking it.
However, both India and Pakistan said the border areas were calm on Monday.
Pakistan stock market opens at single-day high, recovering losses after India standoff
- Benchmark KSE-100 Index opens at 117,104.11, up by 9,929.48 points, largest single-day gain on record
- Pakistani stocks also rally following the IMF’s approval on Friday of a loan program review for Pakistan
KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 Index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened at 117,104.11 points on Monday, up by 9,929.48 points, marking the largest single-day increase in index points after a weekend ceasefire agreement with India.
Pakistan’s stocks rallied after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan. Both states had exchanged missile, drone and artillery strikes last week amid surging tensions.
The development is a breath of fresh air for the stock market, which saw a record-breaking 6,482-point plunge last Thursday. This was the largest single-day decline in the index’s history as investors feared an escalation in the conflict between India and Pakistan.
“Pakistan Stock Market opens at a single-day record,” Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the finance minister, said in a statement. “A new record for a single day, way more than the single-day decline it recorded last week.”
Pakistani stocks also rallied after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a loan program review for Pakistan on Friday. The IMF nod helped unlock around $1 billion in much-needed funds for Islamabad and greenlit a new $1.4 billion bailout despite New Delhi’s objections.
“Pakistan has much more to offer, given IMF’s board approval of $2.4 billion, further decline in interest rates, Pakistan’s measured and responsible response in both its narrative and actions on-ground,” Schehzad noted.
The official said these developments and a potential “positive” spillover effect of a likely settlement of the US-China tariff dispute, had caught investors’ eye and caused the stocks to rally.
Schehzad noted that renewed investor confidence, enhanced IMF funding and support, a low inflation rate and stable currency parities in the region all position Pakistan “for a more meaningful economic upside moving forward.”
Earlier during the day, a five percent increase in the KSE-30 index from the previous trading day’s close led to a market halt as per stock market regulations. All equity and equity-based markets were suspended, as per a notification of the PSX.
Markets reopened around 10:42 a.m. local time (0542 GMT).
Military operations chiefs of India, Pakistan to hold talks today as ceasefire holds
- Fragile ceasefire appeared to be in place after both sides blamed the other for initial violations on Saturday
- US officials have said India and Pakistan had also agreed to hold talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site
ISLAMABAD: The military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan will hold talks today, Monday, two days after a ceasefire put a sudden stop to a conflict that had seemed to be spiraling alarmingly.
A fragile 48-hour-old truce appeared to be holding on Monday after both sides blamed the other for initial violations on Saturday night, hours after the US-brokered deal was first announced. There were no reports of explosions or projectiles overnight, after some initial ceasefire violations, with the Indian Army saying Sunday was the first peaceful night in recent days along their de facto Line of Control border, although some schools remain closed.
Saturday’s ceasefire followed four days of intense fighting with drones and missiles and gun fire exchanges across the Line of Control that divides the disputed Kashmir valley into parts administered by India and Pakistan.
“The directors general of military operations will talk again on May 12 at 1200 hours,” Vikram Misri, the Indian Foreign Secretary, said on Saturday as he announced that both sides had agreed to stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea.
Since Wednesday last week, the arch rivals had targeted each other’s military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians as relations turned sour after India blamed Pakistan for a militant attack that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Pakistan denies the accusations and has called for a neutral investigation.
India said it launched strikes on nine ‘terrorist infrastructure’ sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday, but Islamabad has said those were civilian sites, hitting back with missiles and drones in a confrontation that went on for four days.
Saturday’s truce was first announced by US President Donald Trump. US officials also said the two nations had agreed to hold talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.
On Monday, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan quoted Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif as saying Islamabad would prioritize the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Kashmir dispute and “terrorism” issues in any potential talks with India.
Before the fighting broke out on Wednesday, the two nations had already announced a raft of punitive measures following the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty unilaterally, with Pakistan warning it would see any attempt to stop or redirect the flow of its waters “an act of war.”
The treaty is an international agreement between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, that divides the waters of the Indus River basin between the two countries. Specifically, it allocates the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) to India and the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) to Pakistan.
Kashmir has been a bone of contention between the two countries since independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Both countries claim the Muslim-majority region in full but govern only parts of it. They have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over the disputed territory.
“When asked about potential talks, he [Asif] emphasized that Pakistan would prioritize three major issues of contention including Indus Waters Treaty, Kashmir and terrorism which need to be resolved to ensure peace in the region,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
While Islamabad has thanked Washington for facilitating Saturday’s ceasefire and welcomed Trump’s offer to mediate on the Kashmir dispute with India, New Delhi has not commented on US involvement in the truce or talks at a neutral site.
- With inputs from Reuters
India says killed over 100 militants in Pakistan strikes, Islamabad says 26 Indian military targets hit
- Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, director general of military operations, said India’s armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities
- Pakistan military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said army targeted total of 26 Indian military installations in response to India’s missile strikes
ISLAMABAD: India’s military strikes into Azad Kashmir and Pakistan last week killed more than 100 militants including prominent leaders, the head of India’s military operations said on Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the director general of military operations, said India’s armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir.
“We achieved total surprise,” Ghai said at a news conference in New Delhi, adding Pakistan’s response was “erratic and rattled.”
The two countries agreed to a truce on Saturday after talks to defuse their most serious military confrontation in decades. The two armies exchanged gunfire, artillery strikes, missiles and drones that killed dozens of people.
As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all military action on land, in the air and at sea. On Sunday, Pakistan’s military said it did not ask for a ceasefire, as claimed by India, but rather it was India that had sought the ceasefire.
At a televised news conference, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan’s armed forces targeted a total of 26 Indian military installations in response to India’s missile strikes which were launched before dawn Wednesday.
He said the military had vowed it would respond to the Indian aggression, and it has fulfilled its commitment to the nation. Sharif warned that any threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty or territorial integrity would be met with a “comprehensive, retributive, and decisive” response.
He said Pakistan exercised “maximum restraint” during the counterstrike, employing medium-range missiles and other munitions, and that no civilian areas were targeted inside India.
Competing claims of how many killed
The escalation in violence began last week after a gun massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied any involvement.
Ghai said at least 35 to 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes along the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Five Indian soldiers were also killed, he said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said his country’s armed forces had killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control.
Following India’s Wednesday strikes, Pakistan sent drones multiple times in many locations in Kashmir and Indian cities that were neutralized, said Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, the operations head of the Indian air force. He said India responded with “significant and game-changing strikes” Saturday, hitting Pakistan’s air bases.
Bharti refused to comment on Pakistani claims of shooting down five Indian fighter jets, but said “we are in a combat scenario and losses are a part of combat.” He claimed India also “downed (a) few planes” but did not offer any evidence.
The Associated Press could not independently verify all the actions attributed to India or Pakistan.
Saturday’s ceasefire was shaken just hours later by overnight fighting in disputed Kashmir, as each side accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal. Drones were also spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat, according to Indian officials.
People on both sides of the Line of Control reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.
In the Poonch area of Indian-administered Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.
“Most people ran as shells were being fired,” said college student Sosan Zehra, who returned home Sunday. “It was completely chaotic.”
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, which is 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Line of Control, residents said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.
“We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain,” said Mohammad Zahid.
Indian and Pakistan officials to speak Monday
US President Donald Trump was the first to post about the ceasefire deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.
Pakistan has thanked the US, and especially Trump, several times for facilitating the ceasefire.
India has not said anything about Trump or the US since the deal was announced. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.
India and Pakistan’s top military officials are scheduled to speak today, Monday.
India and Pakistan have fought daily since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.
They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes, while insisting they themselves were only retaliating.
Kashmir is split between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety.
They have fought two of their three wars over the region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims
In Karachi, 145-year-old veterinary hospital offers free lifeline for animals
- Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital named after British commissioner known for his efforts for animal welfare
- Facility offers wide range of free procedures like surgeries and orthopedic treatment for animals with broken bones
KARACHI: Safia Ahmed sat with her fluffy white Persian cat, Simba, last week in the storied hallway of Karachi’s time-worn Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital, waiting for her turn.
A vet soon called her in, examined Simba and administered treatment. He also gave Ahmed medicine to take home for the cat.
While this was a routine visit for Ahmed, a devoted owner of two Persian cats and two parrots, the hospital is anything but ordinary.
Established in 1880, the state-run Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital offers free treatment and has a 145-year legacy of animal welfare.
The facility, on Karachi’s busy M.A. Jinnah Road, is named after a British commissioner in the southern Sindh province known to hold a deep affection for animals, according to Dr. Chandar Kumar, the veterinary officer currently in charge of the facility, which functions under the Sindh provincial government’s Livestock Department.
“In 1840, Crawford had bought this plot ofland. After that, he left [for Britain]. Later, our respected community elders, including Parsis, Muslims and Hindus, came together and established an institution in his name,” Kumar told Arab News.
“This institution has been providing treatment for animals, working on their health and administering vaccinations ever since.”
Animal rights activists have long raised concerns over routine neglect, abuse and exploitation of domestic animals, livestock, stray populations and wildlife in Pakistan, calling for improved health care facilities.
In Karachi, a city exceeding 20 million, a mere 27 public animal care centers are operational, a majority of them being clinics and dispensaries.
The number of animals that daily pass through the doors of Crawford highlights the important role the hospital plays in trying to bridge this gap, especially for those who cannot afford private clinics.
“We have a daily OPD [Outpatient Department examination] of over 100 animals,” said Dr. Kumar, adding that all kinds of animals, from domestic pets like cats and dogs, small livestock like sheep and goats, and occasionally even larger animals, were daily brought to the facility.
Dr. Shalla Sharon Hayat, a veterinary surgeon at Crawford, said the hospital offered a wide range of facilities, including surgeries and orthopedic treatment for animals with broken bones that required complex procedures.
“It was opened with the vision of providing facilities where even a person from the underprivileged class who loves animals can have their pets cared for as well as an upper-class person who loves animals,” Hayat said.
Ahmed couldn’t agree more.
“This has become a great convenience for us because we can’t really afford to go to private clinics,” she said after Simba’s treatment. “If the government hadn’t set this up, we wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”
Iqbal Masih, who was at the hospital with his dog Lucky, a Maltese mix, concurred.
“I’ve been taking care of him for four years, and I love him very much,” Masih said.
“Whenever he gets a fever or any problem, I immediately take him to the doctor. I had brought another dog to them before as well, they gave the right medicine.”
Apart from animal care, the hospital also has great architectural significance in the Karachi landscape, said Peerzada Salman, the author of ‘Karachi — Legacies of Empires,’ a photographic history of the city.
“It’s a very simple building, built in the style of the renaissance. The ground floor has arches and above it is square windows. Such buildings are rare in Karachi nowadays,” Salman said.
The author commended locals who resisted an attempt to demolish the hospital and build a skyscraper in its place some 20 years ago but added that the historical building currently needed attention.
“If those involved in heritage preservation pay attention to it and renovate it properly, it would be great as it holds dual importance: one as a hospital for animals and the other as a building with historical significance,” Salman added.
Surgeon Hayat described the hospital as a central part of Karachi’s larger ecosystem.
“In any ecosystem, animals play a very significant role,” she said. “And those who care for them and raise them deserve our respect.”
