ISLAMABAD: China is prepared to strengthen space cooperation with Pakistan, its embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday, quoting Chinese Foreign Spokesperson Lin Jian, who highlighted a day earlier a Pakistani astronaut would soon join the Chinese space station successfully.
Pakistan’s space agency signed a cooperation agreement with China last week, paving the way for the country’s first astronaut to embark on a mission to the Chinese space station, Tiangong.
According to Pakistan’s Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the Pakistani astronaut will be trained as a scientific payload specialist to conduct research aboard the station.
The mission will focus on scientific experiments across disciplines, including biological and medical sciences, aerospace, applied physics, fluid mechanics, space radiation, ecology, material sciences, microgravity studies and astronomy.
“China is ready to work with Pakistan to elevate our space cooperation to a new level and give a stronger boost to the socioeconomic development of the two countries through space technologies,” Lin Jian said, according to a social media post by the Chinese embassy.
Lin told reporters on Monday exploring the universe had always been humanity’s shared aspiration.
“We are glad to see the signing of a space cooperation agreement between China and Pakistan,” he said. “We hope the Pakistani astronaut’s entry into the Chinese space station will be a full success.”
He added that since the launch of China’s manned space engineering program, Beijing had followed principles of peaceful use, equality, mutual benefit and common development.
“We focus on sharing with all humanity the results of China’s development and offer opportunities of cooperation in China’s space station,” he said, noting Beijing was open to further collaboration with other countries.
Pakistan and China have deepened their space partnership in recent years, marked by joint satellite development and a planned lunar mission. In January, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for Pakistan’s first lunar rover to be included in China’s Chang’e 8 mission in 2028.
The rover, developed by SUPARCO, will land at the lunar south pole, carrying scientific instruments designed by Pakistani, Chinese and European scientists. Pakistani scientists will operate the rover from Earth, conducting surface mapping, soil analysis and radiation studies.
Pakistan previously participated in lunar exploration in 2024, when its first lunar satellite, ICUBE-Q, developed by students at the Institute of Space Technology (IST) in collaboration with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was deployed aboard China’s Chang’e 6 mission to capture lunar images and collect magnetic field data.
China ready to strengthen space ties as Pakistani astronaut prepares for Tiangong mission
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China ready to strengthen space ties as Pakistani astronaut prepares for Tiangong mission
- Chinese spokesperson hopes Pakistani astronaut’s entry into the Chinese space station will be a success
- The Pakistani astronaut will train as a scientific payload specialist to conduct research aboard the station
Pakistan remembers Benazir Bhutto, first woman PM in Muslim world, on death anniversary
- Bhutto was daughter of ex-PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was hanged during reign of former military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq
- Year before assassination in 2007, Bhutto signed landmark deal with rival Nawaz Sharif to prevent army interventions
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other Pakistani leaders on Saturday paid tribute to Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister in the Muslim world who was assassinated 18 years ago in a gun and bomb attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi.
Born on Jun. 21, 1953, Bhutto was elected premier for the first time in 1988 at the age of 35. She was deposed in 1990, re-elected in 1993, and ousted again in 1996, amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement which she denied as being politically motivated.
Bhutto only entered politics after her father was hanged in 1979 during military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq’s reign. Throughout her political career, she had a complex and often adversarial relationship with the now ruling Sharif family, but despite the differences signed a ‘Charter of Democracy’ in 2006 with three-time former PM Nawaz Sharif, pledging to strengthen democratic institutions and prevent military interventions in Pakistan in the future.
She was assassinated a year and a half later.
“Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto took exemplary steps to strengthen the role of women, protect the rights of minorities, and make Pakistan a peaceful, progressive, and democratic state,” PM Shehbaz Sharif, younger brother of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, said in a statement on Saturday.
“Her sacrifices and services are a beacon of light for the nation.”
President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower, said Bhutto believed in an inclusive Pakistan, rejected sectarianism, bigotry and intolerance, and consistently spoke for the protection of minorities.
“Her vision was of a federation where citizens of all faiths could live with dignity and equal rights,” he said. “For the youth of Pakistan, her life offers a clear lesson: speak up for justice, organize peacefully and do not surrender hope in the face of adversity.”
Powerful families like the Bhuttos and the Sharifs of Pakistan to the Gandhis of India and the Bandaranaike family of Sri Lanka have long dominated politics in this diverse region since independence from British colonial rule. But none have escaped tragedy at the hands of rebels, militants or ambitious military leaders.
It was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bhutto’s father, who founded the troubled Bhutto dynasty, becoming the country’s first popularly elected prime minister before being toppled by the army in 1977 and later hanged. Both his sons died in mysterious circumstances.
Before her assassination on Dec. 27, 2007, Bhutto survived another suicide attack on her motorcade that killed nearly 150 people as she returned to Pakistan after eight years in exile in October 2007.
Bhutto’s Oxford-educated son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, now leads her Pakistan Peoples Party, founded by her father, and was foreign minister in the last administration of PM Shehbaz Sharif.
Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Bhutto’s daughter who is currently the first lady of Pakistan, said her mother lived with courage and led with compassion in life.
“Her strength lives on in every voice that refuses injustice,” she said on X.
Pakistan has been ruled by military regimes for almost half its history since independence from Britain in 1947. Both former premiers Imran Khan and the elder Sharif, Nawaz, have alleged that they were ousted by the military after they fell out with the generals. The army says it does not interfere in politics.
