ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the former’s first lunar rover to be included in Beijing’s Chang’E 8 mission, the national space agency in Islamabad said.
The Chang’E 8 mission is a robotic exploration of the lunar south pole expected to launch in 2028. Last year, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), Pakistan’s space program, said its rover would land on the lunar south pole in 2028 as part of the Chang’ E 8 mission but a formal agreement has now been signed during a visit by President Asif Ali Zardari to China this week.
“Pakistan has made a significant leap in deep space exploration with the signing of a historic MoU between SUPARCO and the China National Space Administration,” the Pakistani agency said in a press release on Thursday.
Pakistan’s participation in the mission was a “milestone” in the country’s space program and its contribution to the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) initiative, the statement added.
“SUPARCO’s lunar rover will be deployed at the Moon’s south pole,” it said. “The rover will carry advanced scientific payloads developed by SUPARCO and an internationally designed scientific payload created through collaboration between Chinese and European scientists.”
The combined effort of Pakistan and China will enhance the mission’s capability to conduct an in-depth analysis of the lunar surface, the statement said, with Pakistani scientists able to operate the rover from Earth, map the lunar surface, study lunar soil composition, radiation levels and plasma properties and test new technologies for sustainable human presence.
Last May, Pakistan launched its first lunar satellite aboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe, which successful landed on the moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater on the side of the Moon that always faces away from Earth. The mission returned to earth in June, making China the first to bring back samples from the moon’s far side.
Pakistan, China sign agreement for lunar mission in 2028
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Pakistan, China sign agreement for lunar mission in 2028
- Pakistan’s first lunar rover will be part of China’s Chang’E 8 robotic exploration of the lunar south pole
- Last May, Pakistan launched its first lunar satellite aboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe of far side of the moon
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
