ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Beijing on the second day of his five-day visit to China on Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet the top Chinese leadership including President Xi Jinping and oversee the signing of trade and investment agreements in various fields, amid Islamabad push for enhanced economic cooperation with its ally.
Sharif was received by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong upon his arrival at the Beijing airport. The premier is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other members of the cabinet and senior officials, a statement from Sharif’s office said.
“The Prime Minister has an extensive program in Beijing reflecting depth and breadth of Pakistan-China ties,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
“He will meet the President, the Premier and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.”
Sharif will also attend a Pakistan-China Friendship and Business event, and hold meetings with the chief executive officers of leading Chinese companies working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
“A number of MoUs between the two countries on cooperation in various fields are likely to be signed,” the statement said.
’FULL SUPPORT’ FOR CHINESE INVESTORS
Earlier, the prime minister said his administration would provide “full support” to Chinese investors entering Pakistan’s market, as the South Asian nation seeks to woo foreign investors amid efforts to stabilize its $350 billion economy.
The premier was speaking at a joint business forum in Shenzhen, a major global technology hub, where he arrived on Tuesday for the first leg of his visit to China from June 4-8. At the top of the agenda are business-to-business meetings and efforts to seek an upgrade for CPEC, a flagship of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, through which Beijing has pledged over $60 billion in energy and infrastructure Pakistan since 2015.
Islamabad now hopes CPEC collaborations will enter the industrial, IT and agricultural sectors and is encouraging the involvement of the private sector and business-to-business (B2B) engagements.
Around 79 Pakistani companies are in China to attend the business forum in Shenzhen.
“Today is the opportunity, today is the time,” Sharif said in his address to Pakistani and Chinese executives. “Today is the moment for you to capture, sit down with our Chinese friends and brothers and have serious discussions.
“I want to assure you as not only as the prime minister of Pakistan but as the chief executive officer of Pakistan that I will give you full support like never before to promote your efforts to stitch these deals so that Pakistan and Chinese businessmen they benefit jointly have mutual benefits.”
In his address at the forum, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb laid out the government’s broader roadmap, emphasizing export-led growth and the crucial role of special economic zones. He said Pakistan was seeking foreign direct investment through government-to-government and business-to-business arrangements and aimed to access international capital markets and tap into Panda Bonds, Renminbi (RMB)-denominated bonds from a non-Chinese issuer, which are sold in mainland China.
Aurangzeb acknowledged “temporary hiccups” in payments and repatriations for Chinese companies but assured that such issues would soon be resolved.
Pakistan has frequently sent high-level official delegations to China, its closest regional ally, in the past. However, most of these visits have been to Beijing and revolved around state-level interactions between the top officials of the two countries.
Sharif’s latest visit comes at a time when his administration is actively trying to put Pakistan’s economy back on track amid prolonged financial troubles that have compelled the country to repeatedly urge friendly nations and international lenders for loans.
In recent months, Pakistani authorities have said they are no longer striving to borrow money from allies but asking them to make “mutually beneficial” investments and explore the possibility of collaborating with local businesses.
Chinese investment and financial support since 2013 have been key for the South Asian nation’s struggling economy, including the rolling over of loans so that Islamabad can meet its external financing needs at a time when its foreign reserves are critically low.
B2B MEETINGS
Earlier, the prime minister met with Zhu Zhaojiang, the founder and chairman of Transsion Holdings, a Chinese multinational company specializing in manufacturing mobile phones.
Zhu expressed interest in expanding investment in Pakistan, particularly in mobile manufacturing units and exploring opportunities in electric bikes, modern agriculture and fintech sectors, according to a statement from Sharif’s office.
The prime minister directed federal ministers and Pakistan’s ambassador to China to swiftly develop a plan of action for Transsion and encouraged the company to produce locally and increase exports from Pakistan whose greatest strength was its young workforce.
During the meeting, Zhu informed Sharif about his company’s existing operations in Pakistan, its global exports and plans for further investments, including an already established unit that employs over 5,000 Pakistan nationals.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sharif also visited the Nanshan One-Stop Service Center and Shenzhen Exhibition Museum and directed his ministers to “immediately coordinate with the Center to replicate a similar modern system in Pakistan,” state-run APP reported.
“He was briefed about the digital system established at the Center to register companies and carry out other processes under one roof. He lauded the modern systems developed at the Nanshan One-Stop Services for the registration of companies and businesses,” APP said.
“He also directed the relevant authorities to take necessary measures to establish a similar system in the country with Chinese cooperation.”
The prime minister also visited the Shenzhen Exhibition Museum where he was briefed about the development journey of Shenzhen city, as well as
the headquarters of Huawei in Shenzhen where he was received by the company’s chairman Liang Hua.
“Chairman Huawei informed the Prime Minister about the operations of Huawei around the world, especially in Pakistan, and expressed deep interest in investing in various sectors of Pakistan,” PMO said.
“The Prime Minister appreciated the innovation of Huawei’s operations and encouraged Huawei to expand its investment in Pakistan.”
After a briefing on e-governance, digital banking, telecommunication and artificial intelligence, Sharif invited Huawei to establish Safe City projects on a priority basis in Pakistan, especially in cities where work on CPEC projects was ongoing.
“The government is taking steps to digitize government offices on a priority basis,” Sharif said. “There are vast investment opportunities in Pakistan for a big company like Huawei in the fields of tax system, e-governance and artificial intelligence.”
Sharif also invited the chairman of Huawei to invest in modern technology in the agricultural sector in Pakistan and attended the signing ceremony of a framework agreement between Huawei and the Pakistani science ministry.
Under the framework agreement, Huawei will provide free training to 200,000 Pakistanis in the field of information technology including artificial intelligence and provide full support in the establishment of Safe Cities, e-governance and digitization of the economy in Pakistan.
During the China visit, the Pakistani prime minister will also meet President Xi Jinping and other senior officials in Beijing before concluding the five-day trip on June 8.
Pakistan seeks to woo Chinese investors at business forum, B2B meetings
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Pakistan seeks to woo Chinese investors at business forum, B2B meetings
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is on five-day visit to China from June 4-8
- Sharif to meet Chinese leadership, including President Jinping, in Beijing
Journalists, activists rally against Pakistani law to regulate social media
- Bill proposes Social Media Regulatory Authority to block illegal content, with disinformation punishable by up to three years in prison, $7,000 fine
- Government officials say the law will not affect working journalists or mainstream media, only those spreading ‘fake news’ on online platforms
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani journalists and rights activists on Tuesday described a new law passed by both houses of parliament and aimed at regulating social media content as an attack on freedom of expression, with hundreds of journalists and activists protesting against the legislation in the federal capital and other cities.
The law, which amends the much-criticized Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in 2016, would establish the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority to perform a range of functions related to social media, including being able to order the immediate blocking of unlawful content targeting judges, the armed forces, parliament or provincial assemblies or material that promotes and encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against the state or its institutions. The authority would have its own investigation agency and tribunals. Those found to have disseminated false or fake information face prison sentences of up to three years and fines of two million rupees ($7,200).
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) led rallies in cities including Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore on Tuesday to demand the government withdraw the bill, which has been passed by the National Assembly and Senate but has yet to be signed into law by the president.
“We do not accept this amendment bill … this law curtails our freedom of press and freedom of expression,” PFUJ secretary general Nasir Zaidi told Arab News at the protest in Islamabad.
“This is the darkest day in the history of journalism and the history of freedom of journalists, against which we are protesting.”
Zaidi explained that the new law would establish four regulatory authorities for social media platforms, digital platforms and even electronic media.
Journalist and anchorwoman Asma Shirazi blamed the government for bulldozing the legislation through the parliament without consulting stakeholders.
“We all agree that there should be some legislation [to curb fake news] but the stakeholders must be taken on board and they must be consulted in the legislation formation,” she told Arab News.
Usama Khilji, a director at Bolo Bhi, a digital rights advocacy forum, said the law posed a threat to Pakistani citizens, especially journalists and social media users who expressed their views online.
“Four new bodies related to social media, including a tribunal and an authority, are all appointed by the government and the government can fire the chairperson at any point [under new law],” Khilji said. “What we also see is a three-year jail term for sharing false or fake information but that is a very broad and vague definition.”
Khilji said the law granted regulatory authorities the power to block entire social media platforms legally.
“The broad powers that have been given will have a far-ranging impact,” he said.
Khilji also said the new law risked Pakistan’s GSP plus trade status with the European Union, under which it gets preferential access to markets for implementing international conventions on human rights, labor rights, environmental protection, and good governance.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, who moved the bill, said the law would not apply to TV channels or newspapers but only to “miscreants” spreading false news on social media platforms.
“Even the opposition during their speeches in the house essentially acknowledged the need for the PECA law,” he said. “They admitted that there is a lot of filth online that needs to be addressed.”
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told reporters after the passage of the bill by the lower house of parliament last week that it would not apply to “working journalists”:
“This is the first time the government has defined what social media is. There is already a system in place for print and electronic media and complaints can be registered against them.”
The information minister said the law had to be passed because the Federal Investigation Agency, previously responsible for handling cybercrime, “does not have the capacity to handle child pornography or AI deep fake cases.”
Tarar added that the government was also aiming to bring social media journalists, including those operating YouTube accounts, under the tax framework.
The operative part of the new bill outlines that the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority would have the power to issue directions to a social media platform for the removal or blocking of online content if it was against the ideology of Pakistan, incited the public to violate the law or take the law in own hands with a view to coerce, intimidate or terrorize the public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions, incited the public to cause damage to governmental or private property or coerced or intimidated the public and thereby prevented them from carrying on their lawful trade and disrupted civic life.
The authority will also crackdown on anyone inciting hatred and contempt on a religious, sectarian or ethnic basis as well as against obscene or pornographic content and deep fakes.
Rights activists say the new bill is part of a widespread digital crackdown that includes a ban on X since February last year, restrictions on VPN use and the implementation of a national firewall.
The government denies the measures are aimed at censorship.
‘No significant impact’ of Trump temporarily halting development aid to Pakistan — official
- Suspension hits five energy, four economic growth, five agriculture projects in Pakistan, several others in education and health
- Trump’s executive order has set alarm bells ringing among aid groups, governments around the world that depend on US largesse
KARACHI: Khurram Schehzad, an adviser to the Pakistani prime minister on economic affairs, said on Tuesday US President Donald Trump ordering a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance pending assessments of consistency with his foreign policy would have “no significant impact” on Pakistan.
Trump’s executive order has set alarm bells ringing among aid groups and governments around the world that depend on US largesse.
According to a US State Department cable seen by Reuters, the decision has affected 11 governance programs in Pakistan as well as initiatives under the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. The suspension hits five energy projects, four in economic growth, five in agriculture, and several others in education and health. Democracy, human rights, and governance funds have also been put on hold, pending a review.
Over the past twenty years, the US had provided more than $32 billion in direct support to the people of Pakistan, according to the website of its embassy in Islamabad.
“Firstly, the aid has been temporarily halted and secondly, the aid has been halted for all countries, not just Pakistan, and thirdly, it is a very small portion of the overall grants,” Schehzad told Arab News when questioned about the impact of pausing development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days.
“Total grants for fiscal year 2025 were hardly 1 percent of the total external financing. Grants received so far in the first five months of fiscal year 2025 stand at $38 million, which has already surpassed the budgeted target of $21 million for FY25. So no significant impact as such.”
Humanitarian organizations and UN agencies say they could face drastic curbs on their ability to distribute food, shelter and health care if the freeze becomes permanent. The US is by far the biggest contributor to global humanitarian aid, supplying an estimated $13.9 billion in 2024, accounting for 42 percent of all aid tracked by the United Nations.
The cuts will also affect the supply of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis around the globe, which millions of people depend on.
The order to freeze funding has thrown USAID missions and their partners into chaos, with many organizations unsure whether to lay off staff, start selling assets such as cars or tell employees to take unpaid leave. USAID has reportedly been forbidden from communicating with implementing partners except to say funds have been paused.
Police in southern Pakistan arrest faith healer after woman dies following ‘exorcism’
- Shrimati Sangeeta, 30, was allegedly beaten with sticks for three days to cure her “possession,” police say
- With medical treatment being costly, many Pakistanis turn to faith healers to cure disease, mental disorders
KARACHI: Police in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province said on Tuesday they had arrested a faith healer after a woman died following an “exorcism” ritual.
The incident took place in district Badin’s Khuda Bux Hisbani village where police said they found the body of Shrimati Sangeeta, 30, in her house on Jan. 27 after receiving a complaint from the deceased’s father.
Preliminary investigation into the episode revealed that a spiritual healer named Harisingh Kolhi and his two followers, Walji Kolhi and Bahawal Kolhi, had tortured Sangeeta for three days with sticks, claiming that she was possessed. The woman ultimately died from the injuries from the beating.
Police said they recovered a sheet and bed with blood stains on them after arresting the spiritual healer while they were trying to arrest his two disciples who had escaped.
“During the investigation it also surfaced that torture was made with the consent of deceased Sangeeta’s husband, namely Harish Kolhi, and relatives namely Bachoo s/o Veersi Kolhi and Saveeta d/o Bachoo Kolhi, who have also been taken in police custody,” a copy of the police report seen by Arab News said.
Faith healers are relatively common in some parts of Pakistan, though their activities are banned in many schools of Islam.
A large part of the population of Pakistan is illiterate and poor and medical treatment can be costly, forcing people to turn to faith healers to cure diseases and mental disorders.
In 2022, such practices were in the spotlight after a faith healer allegedly hammered a nail into a pregnant woman’s head saying he could guarantee she gave birth to a baby boy.
In some poorer South Asian countries, a son is often believed to offer better long-term financial security to parents than daughters do, and this gives rise to exploitative practices, often from so-called faith healers.
Texas hedge fund manager close to Trump leads investment delegation to Pakistan— state media
- Gentry Beach is leading “high-level” investment delegation on two-day visit to Pakistan, says state media
- State broadcaster says several agreements between Pakistan and US were signed during delegation’s visit
Islamabad: A high-level delegation of American investors featuring a business partner of US President Donald Trump has arrived in Pakistan, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday, adding that several agreements between the two countries were signed.
The delegation, led by Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach, has arrived in Pakistan for a two-day visit to the country. Pakistani state media said that the delegation’s arrival days after the new American administration taking office is of “great importance.”
“The visit of the US delegation to Pakistan will open new avenues for investment, economic and bilateral relations between the two countries,” Radio Pakistan said.
The development takes place as cash-strapped Pakistan engages with countries to secure foreign investment in its key economic sectors such as energy, agriculture, mining and minerals, livestock and others.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has sought increased foreign trade and investment as a remedy to Pakistan’s economic woes. Pakistan, which came to the brink of a sovereign default in 2023, has suffered from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has drained its economic resources, weakened its currency and exacerbated its balance of payments crisis.
The South Asian country had a flurry of high-level exchanges with Saudi Arabia, Japan, Azerbaijan, Qatar and Central Asian countries last year in a bid to support its $350 billion fragile economy.
Islamabad formed a hybrid civil-military investment body in June 2023 to fast-track decisions related to investment in Pakistan’s key economic sectors. The government credits the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) for aiding its efforts to turn Pakistan’s economy around and increasing its exports over the past year-and-a-half.
However, ties between Pakistan and the US have always remained complicated. Both countries shared close defense and security cooperation in the past, particularly during the Cold War after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and post-September 11, 2001 attacks.
However, more recently, US officials criticized Pakistan for not sufficiently supporting their military efforts against the Taliban following the 9/11 attacks. Islamabad denies sheltering Taliban fighters and helping them regain control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
Pakistan Navy’s ‘Yamama’ holds bilateral exercise with Saudi ship in Jeddah
- Navy says exercise aimed to strengthen naval cooperation and enhance interoperability between the two allies
- Ship’s crew held table-top discussions on maritime issues with Saudi naval leadership, says Pakistan Navy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy said its newly commissioned Yamama ship visited Jeddah on Tuesday where it met the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) leadership and held a passage exercise (PASSEX) with the Kingdom’s ‘Makkah’ ship, saying the activities were designed to strengthen cooperation and foster interoperability.
Yamama is Pakistan Navy’s fourth Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) that it says is equipped with advanced technologies and designed to operate in contested maritime environments. Upon its arrival at Jeddah port, the ship was received by senior RSNF officials and representatives from the Pakistan Embassy, the navy said.
During its stay, the ship’s crew engaged in professional activities, including cross-ship visits, table-top discussions on maritime issues and meetings with the RSNF leadership.
“Following the port visit, PNS YAMAMA conducted a PASSEX with HMS Makkah,” Pakistan Navy said. “The exercise was designed to strengthen naval cooperation and enhance interoperability between the two navies. Both forces reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring maritime security and promoting regional stability.”
The statement said Yamama’s visit to Saudi Arabia and the passage exercise further reinforced “strong brotherly relations” and defense collaboration between the two countries.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong defense ties and bilateral security cooperation. The two nations regularly engage in joint air, ground and sea military exercises while several cadets from the Kingdom, along with counterparts from other Middle Eastern nations, annually visit Pakistan to undergo specialized military training.
Apart from defense and security ties, Pakistan enjoys strong economic and trade relations with Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is home to over two million Pakistani expatriates, serving as the top source of remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian country.
