Chinese workers arrive in Pakistan to speed up CPEC projects slowed by coronavirus

Chinese engineers and workers arrive at Islamabad International Airport, Pakistan, to expedite work on several hydropower projects under the China-Pak Economic Corridor, on July 13, 2020. (China Gezhouba Group Company)
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Updated 25 July 2020
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Chinese workers arrive in Pakistan to speed up CPEC projects slowed by coronavirus

  • Majority Chinese workers left before Chinese New Year festival and were unable to return to Pakistan after the pandemic started
  • Pakistan and China have signed projects worth more than $12 billion since June 6 this year, including for two hydropower projects

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Around 215 Chinese engineers and other staff members have arrived in Pakistan from China this week to expedite work on several hydropower projects under the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC), a spokesman for China Gezhouba Group Company, which is running the projects, said.

Pakistan’s federal government set up the CPEC Authority late last year to expedite work on over $60 billion worth of CPEC projects that have stalled since the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan came to power in 2018. Asim Saleem Bajwa, a retired military general, was appointed to head the body.
Since June 6, Pakistan and China have signed projects worth more than $12 billion, including for two hydropower projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and the rehabilitation and upgrade of a 1,872 KM long colonial-era railway track at an estimated cost of $8.17 billion.




A view of tunnel work at CPEC Suki Kinari Hydropower Project. (Photo courtesy: China Gezhouba Group Company)

Travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has now killed more than half a million people, have idled much of the world’s second-largest economy, China, and choked key elements of its signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which CPEC is a flagship project.
But batches of Chinese staff are arriving in Pakistan once again to kickstart work on projects including the Suki-Kinari, Neelum Jhelum, and Dasu hydropower projects as well as the Mohmand Dam project.




In this undated photo, Chinese construction workers of China Gezhouba Group Company working at a CPEC project site in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: China Gezhouba Group Company)

A third group of Chinese engineers and other staff members arrived in Islamabad from China’s Sichuan Province on July 13, a press release from state-owned China Gezhouba Group Company said.
“This is the third batch of Chinese CPEC workers returning to Pakistan through charter plane organized by China Gezhouba with assistance from Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Mustafa Kamal, spokesman of China Gezhouba Group Company, said. “Majority of the Chinese workers had left Pakistan before the outbreak for the Chinese New Year festival and were unable to return to Pakistan because of the spread of coronavirus that resulted in lockdowns and international flight suspensions.”




China Gezhouba Group Company take a group photo after arriving in Islamabad, Pakistan to restart work on CPEC projects July 13, 2020. (Photo courtesy: China Gezhouba Group Company)


The company is one of the largest publicly owned Chinese entities, executing a number of projects in Pakistan — including under the CPEC umbrella — worth around $9 billion in Pakistan.
The company spokesman said all staff had gone through a compulsory quarantine period of 14 days in China and were tested for coronavirus there. After arrival at Islamabad airport, they had been taken straight to isolation centers established on project sites where they will be quarantined for an additional 14 days.
Two groups of CPEC staffers had arrived in Pakistan earlier, Kamal said, and were safely deputed to work. He said the company roughly had 24,800 local employees and around 14,000 Chinese workers working on various CPEC projects.


Bangladesh court upholds death sentence of 20 students in 2019 murder case

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Bangladesh court upholds death sentence of 20 students in 2019 murder case

  • Abrar Fahad, a student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, was killed after criticizing then government of Sheikh Hasina on Facebook
  • Fahad, 21, was beaten for nearly six hours with cricket bats by a group of 25 students, all members of the student wing of Hasina’s Awami League political party

DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh upheld on Sunday death sentences of 20 former university students convicted of murdering a fellow student in 2019 who had criticized the country’s former government on social media.
Abrar Fahad, 21, a student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), was killed hours after publishing a Facebook post that criticized the then government of Sheikh Hasina for signing a water-sharing treaty with India.
Fahad was beaten for nearly six hours with cricket bats by a group of 25 students, all members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of former prime minister’s political party, the Awami League.
The student wing was accused of creating a reign of terror on university campuses before Hasina was ousted last year following a student-led uprising.
“I am satisfied. I hope the legal procedures will be completed soon, and justice will be served,” Fahad’s father, Barkat Ullah, told reporters after the verdict was announced by the court on Sunday.
“I don’t want to blame the parents who sent their sons to the top university, but they got involved in bad politics. I would urge others to stay away from harmful activities,” he added.
Fahad’s killing sparked nationwide protests, forcing Hasina to pledge the highest punishment for the perpetrators.
Due legal process will be followed to implement the verdict, Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman told reporters.
“The High Court upheld the lower court verdict that handed down death sentences to 20 and life imprisonment to five,” Asaduzzaman said.
“The convicts will be allowed to appeal against the verdict and will have all the rights ensured by the court.”
Syed Mizanur Rahman, one of the group’s defense lawyers, said, “We will appeal against the verdict.”
Of the 20 sentenced to death, four are still on the run.
One of them, Muntasir Al Jamie, who was convicted in Faha’s murder, broke through the prison wall of a high security jail on August 6.
Death sentences are common in Bangladesh, with hundreds of people currently on death row.
All executions are carried out by hanging, a legacy of British colonial rule.


PCB serves legal notice to South Africa’s Corbin Bosch for ‘breaching’ Pakistan T20 league contract

Updated 23 min 21 sec ago
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PCB serves legal notice to South Africa’s Corbin Bosch for ‘breaching’ Pakistan T20 league contract

  • Bosch was picked by Peshawar Zalmi in the Diamond category during player draft for the 10th edition of Pakistan Super League
  • The Pakistan Cricket Board says its management has outlined repercussions of Bosch’s departure from the league in the notice

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has served a legal notice to South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch for “breaching” his contract for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 tournament, the PCB said on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Bosch was picked by Peshawar Zalmi in the Diamond category during player draft for the 10th edition of PSL in Lahore on Jan. 13, according to the PCB.
The legal notice was served through his agent, and the player has been asked to justify his actions of withdrawing from his professional and contractual commitments.
“The PCB management has also outlined the repercussions of his departure from the league and expects his response within the stipulated time frame,” the board said.
“The PCB will not make any further comments on the matter.”
PSL, which officially began in February 2016, features city-based franchise teams and has become a major event in Pakistan’s cricket calendar, symbolizing the country’s love for the sport. The league brings together both local and international talent, and has grown substantially in value and popularity since its inception.
Pakistan will host the 10th edition of PSL from April 11, with defending champions Islamabad United taking on two times champions Lahore Qalandars at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in the opening match.
The six-team tournament will see 34 matches between April 11 and May 18. Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium will host 13 matches, including two eliminators and the final, according to the PCB.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will host 11 matches, including the first qualifier on May 13. National Bank Stadium in Karachi and Multan Cricket Stadium will host five PSL matches each.


Pakistan PM asks officials to intensify crackdown on human traffickers, smugglers

Updated 40 min 8 sec ago
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Pakistan PM asks officials to intensify crackdown on human traffickers, smugglers

  • Several Pakistanis attempt the dangerous and illegal journey via sea each year in search of greener pastures abroad
  • These journeys have claimed lives of several dozen Pakistanis in recent years, prompting action against human smugglers

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to intensify their crackdown on human traffickers and smugglers, the FIA said on Sunday.
The statement came after a meeting of senior FIA officials with the prime minister following the arrest of Usman Jajja, ringleader of a notorious gang involved in human trafficking.
Sharif said the individuals involved in the heinous crime of human trafficking not just cause a loss of precious human lives but also damage the country’s global repute.   
“The prime minister called for intensifying operations to bring those involved in human trafficking to justice,” the FIA said in a statement.
Sharif awarded a cash prize Rs1 million to each official who was part of the operation against the Jajja gang involved in the Greece boat accident, in which four Pakistanis died after a migrant boat they were on sank near the Greek island of Crete in Dec. 2024.
The boat tragedies put the spotlight on perilous journeys many migrants undertake, often driven by economic hardship as young individuals seek better financial prospects by attempting dangerous crossings to Europe.
Several Pakistanis attempt the dangerous and illegal journey each year in a bid to escape surging inflation and opt for a better life as the cash-strapped country navigates a tricky path to economic recovery from a macroeconomic crisis.
Pakistan has intensified its crackdown on human smugglers after multiple boat tragedies resulted in its citizens getting killed in recent years. In 2023, an overcrowded vessel carrying over 250 Pakistanis capsized near Greece, in what was one of the deadliest migrant boat disasters in recent history.


Chinese shipyard completes second submarine for ally Pakistan

Updated 16 March 2025
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Chinese shipyard completes second submarine for ally Pakistan

  • The Hangor class is believed to be an export version of China’s 039A submarine, with a crew of 38 and equipped with anti-ship missiles
  • Pakistan contracted to buy eight of the submarines, the final four of which are to be built by the Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works

TAIPEI: A Chinese shipyard has completed a second submarine for the Pakistan navy, further strengthening military ties between the two countries.
The diesel-electric Hangor class craft was launched on Thursday at China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation’s shipworks in the central city of Wuhan on the Yangtze River, Chinese state media reported Sunday.
Pakistan contracted to buy eight of the submarines, the final four of which are to be built by the Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works in the Pakistani port city of the same name.
The Hangor class is believed to be an export version of China’s 039A submarine, with a crew of 38 plus eight spaces for special forces troops and equipped with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.
Pakistan has used submarines in the past to confront India as part of their land wars over disputed territory in the north. Prohibitions on dual military and civilian use of technology by European nations that make diesel submarines has left China Pakistan’s best option for modern military equipment.
According to a Swedish military think tank, China has accounted for more than 81 percent of Pakistan’s weapons imports over the past five years. Joint venture projects include the Hangor as well as the JF-17 fighter jet.
Meanwhile, China and India have agreed to work toward a solution to their long-running border dispute in the Himalayas after a military standoff that flared with a deadly clash in 2020 but dates back decades.


Pakistan health minister expresses concern over rising polio cases in Sindh

Updated 16 March 2025
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Pakistan health minister expresses concern over rising polio cases in Sindh

  • Syed Mustafa Kamal asks authorities to submit detailed report on parents refusing polio vaccination for children
  • Pakistan has so far reported six polio cases in first three months of 2025, with four of those reported from Sindh

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal expressed concern over the rising number of poliovirus cases being reported from Sindh, the health ministry said on Sunday, directing authorities to submit a detailed report on the number of families refusing to get their children vaccinated. 

Pakistan has so far reported six polio cases in the first three months of 2025. Four out of the six cases have been reported from Sindh, as per official data. 

Kamal paid a visit to the provincial Emergency Operation Center (EOC) in Karachi, Sindh’s capital, on Sunday where he sought a detailed report from authorities about parents refusing polio vaccinations for their children. 

“The health minister has expressed concern over four polio cases [reported] from Sindh,” the health ministry said in a statement. 

“Forty-three thousand patients in Sindh refused vaccination out of which about 42,000 are from Karachi,” Kamal was quoted as saying. 

The minister was given a detailed briefing on the ongoing polio vaccination campaigns and the challenges faced by authorities. 

Kamal said eliminating polio from Pakistan was a national priority, directing authorities to utilize all resources to eradicate the disease. 

Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure, and multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine vaccination schedule for children under five, are essential to providing immunity against the virus.

The South Asian country last year reported 74 polio cases. Pakistan has planned three major polio campaigns in the first half of 2025, with the next rounds scheduled for April and May. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.

Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.