ISLAMABAD: China has warned its nationals against traveling to Pakistan’s two western provinces, South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday, following a deadly suicide bombing in Karachi that killed two of its citizens on Sunday.
The attack occurred just before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, scheduled for next week, and was claimed by the separatist armed group, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which said it used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device for the explosion.
This was not the first attack against Chinese nationals in Karachi, where the same militant group killed three Chinese academics and their local driver in a suicide bombing in April 2022.
Pakistan announced plans to strengthen security protocols for Chinese workers in the country earlier this year after another suicide attack killed five Chinese workers on the Dasu Hydropower Project, and took strict disciplinary action against five senior officials for their “negligence.”
“In a statement on Monday, the embassy advised Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to the southwest province of Balochistan and the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which have seen a surge in attacks targeting Chinese personnel and projects,” the Hong Kong-based newspaper, known for providing in-depth coverage on Asia-Pacific, said in its report.
It added that Beijing had called on Islamabad to “severely punish” the attackers and “plug security loopholes” to protect the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Chinese nationals.
A statement in English available on the embassy’s website reminds “Chinese citizens, enterprises, and projects in Pakistan to be vigilant, pay close attention to the security situation, strengthen security measures, and make every effort to take safety precautions.”
The BLA opposes Pakistan’s control over Balochistan, claiming the region is exploited for its resources without benefiting the local population, an allegation denied by the state.
The group also has a history of targeting Chinese interests in the country due to Beijing’s involvement in infrastructure projects in Balochistan.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday the Chinese killed in the Sunday attack were Independent Power Producers engineers, adding that the government was in energy debt restructuring negotiations with them.
A senior Pakistani politician, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who closely monitors China-Pakistan relations, also shared the South China Morning Post story on social media, expressing regret over the situation.
“What a Shame, this travel advisory, warning of dangers of travel to Pakistan, is not emanating from Washington or London, but from Beijing, our next-door neighbor & Strategic Partner,” he wrote on X.
“China has huge investments in strife-torn Nigeria & Congo, but never have we witnessed there 19 murders of Chinese engineers & technicians in 6 incidents in 5 years, as we see these recurring in Pakistan,” he added.
Sayed questioned the priorities of the current government, saying it was focusing more on local protesters than addressing militants operating in the country.
https://x.com/Mushahid/status/1843710273670316505
China warns citizens against travel to Pakistan after deadly suicide bombing — report
https://arab.news/ywvwt
China warns citizens against travel to Pakistan after deadly suicide bombing — report
- Two Chinese engineers were killed in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device blast in Karachi on Sunday
- Beijing has called on Islamabad to ‘severely punish’ the attackers and ‘plug security loopholes’ to protect CPEC
Shehroze Kashif becomes youngest Pakistani to summit all 14 of the world’s tallest peaks
- Kashif fulfilled his dream by summiting the 8,027-meter-high Shishapangma in Tibet on Wednesday
- The 22-year-old climbed Broad Peak in Pakistan, his first 8,000-meter mountain, when he was just 14
KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: Pakistan’s Shehroze Kashif has become the youngest high-altitude climber from his country to scale all 14 of the world’s tallest peaks following his successful ascent of Shishapangma in Tibet, the Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday.
The 14 peaks, often referred to as the “eight-thousanders,” are over 8,000 meters high and are considered the ultimate test in mountain climbing.
The 22-year-old Pakistani mountaineer began his career at the age of 11 and summited Broad Peak in his own country, which stands at 8,047 meters, when he was barely 14.
“On October 9, 2024, at 3:30 am PST, Shehroze Kashif successfully reached the summit of Shishapangma (8,027 meters), completing his journey of climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks,” Karrar Haidri, the general secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, announced in a statement.
“This remarkable achievement makes him the youngest Pakistani to conquer these formidable summits,” he continued, adding: “Once again, Shehroze has proudly raised the Pakistani flag on one of the world’s highest peaks, marking a historic moment for him and the nation.”
Seven Summit Treks, a Nepalese tour company that arranged the expedition, also confirmed the achievement, listing Kashif in its list of summiteers.
“A team of international climbers and Sherpas (29 Total) from Seven Summit Treks reached the summit of Shisha Pangma today,” it said in a Facebook post. “This remarkable achievement marks a significant milestone for 12 climbers, completing their 14 Peaks challenge and entering the exclusive 8000ers club of mountaineers who have successfully climbed the world’s highest peaks.”
Speaking to Arab News, Salman Kashif, the father of the Pakistani mountaineer, said his family was celebrating the moment after his son successfully completed “Mission 14.”
“As a parent, Shehroze’s achievement is a huge, happy moment as today he has fulfilled his dream of summiting all 14 peaks above eight thousand meters,” he said over the phone.
“When he was stuck on Nanga Parbat last year, we thought he might give up climbing,” he continued. “However, his passion remained high since he had set himself a goal. That’s why he decided to climb the remaining peaks.”
Kashif’s father described his son as “a city boy who loved mountains” and started climbing at a young age.
“All of my family members were awake last night,” he added. “There is a celebratory atmosphere at our house now. People and relatives are visiting to congratulate us.”
He noted everyone at home was excited.
“We will warmly receive Shehroze and celebrate his achievement once he returns.”
High-level Saudi delegation arriving today in Pakistan to finalize $2 billion investment proposals
- Saudi Arabia’s investment minister is scheduled to visit Pakistan from October 9 to 11 ahead of the SCO Summit
- Pakistan’s deputy PM says Saudi Arabia has been ‘rock solid’ in helping Pakistan navigate economic challenges
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Saudi delegation, led by the Kingdom’s Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, will arrive in Pakistan today, Wednesday, for a three-day visit during which $2 billion in business-to-business investment proposals are expected to be finalized.
Pakistan’s foreign office confirmed Al-Falih’s visit from October 9 to 11 earlier this week, noting that he would be accompanied by a high-level delegation. The visit by the Saudi minister and his team comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit next week and aims to enhance economic collaboration between the two countries.
Addressing his cabinet a day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed the anticipated signing of $2 billion worth of agreements with the incoming Saudi delegation. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also spoke about it at a ceremony in the federal capital.
“The Saudi Minister for Investment will arrive on Wednesday to finalize various business-to-business (B2B) investment proposals, which are estimated to exceed $2 billion,” Dar said on Tuesday.
“In recent times, Saudi Arabia has remained rock solid in helping us navigate difficult economic challenges,” he continued, adding the Kingdom’s support had been critical in enabling Pakistan to stand on its own feet.
“The two countries are on a path to forge ever closer strategic cooperation between people of the two countries,” he said.
Dar emphasized the need for both countries to maintain the current momentum in their bilateral relations to achieve the vision of their leaders, where both nations grow together into stronger and more prosperous states.
“On behalf of the people and the government of Pakistan, I extend my deep and sincere gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its continued support and assistance to Pakistan in good times as well as in difficult phases,” he said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been working closely in recent months to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment earlier this year to expedite a $5 billion investment package for the South Asian country.
Pakistan has been seeking closer cooperation in trade, defense, energy and other sectors with regional allies as it aims to recover from a prolonged economic crisis that has drained its foreign exchange reserves and weakened its currency.
Pakistan evacuates 71 nationals from Lebanon and Syria amid Israeli strikes
- Pakistan issued an advisory earlier this year, asking its citizens in Lebanon to exercise caution
- The special flight brought back 67 Pakistanis from Lebanon and four from neighboring Syria
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan brought back 71 of its nationals from Lebanon and Syria on Wednesday, reported the local media, after the foreign office announced the evacuation plan in a statement a day earlier amid Israel’s continued strikes in the region.
Israel has been actively targeting both Arab countries with a stated objective of dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure by launching airstrikes in areas like Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.
Additionally, it has carried out airstrikes in Syria, saying that its forces are targeting sites linked to Hezbollah and Iranian forces, which are believed to be facilitating the transfer of weapons into Lebanon.
Pakistani authorities issued a travel advisory to its nationals earlier this year amid fears of the Gaza war spreading to other parts of the region, asking its citizens to exercise caution in Lebanon.
“A special flight carrying Pakistani nationals evacuated from Lebanon will arrive in Karachi early tomorrow morning,” the foreign office announced on Tuesday.
“The flight carries sixty seven Pakistani nationals repatriated from Lebanon who traveled to Damascus, Syria by road before being airlifted to Pakistan,” it added. “Four Pakistanis from Syria are also being evacuated with this flight.”
The foreign office said the security, transport and food arrangements for these nationals were made by the Pakistani diplomatic missions in Lebanon and Syria to ensure the safe evacuation from Lebanon.
Pakistan’s Geo TV reported that the flight had safely landed in Karachi at about 3 AM.
Mad for momos: Pakistan’s first dumplings-only café carves a niche
- Maria Mushtaq opened first branch of Mariyah’s Den in Karachi in 2021, she now has two more outlets in Pakistan
- Food critic Ahmer Naqvi says dumplings popular as they “fit into modern life in terms of convenience and fusion”
KARACHI: If by chance you are a lover of dumplings and based in Karachi or Islamabad, then consider this a good time to pay a visit to Mariyah’s Den, Pakistan’s first dumplings-only café.
While Chinese dishes like fried rice, chow mein noodles and chicken manchurian have long been beloved to the Pakistani flavor palate, a taste for dumplings, a globe-spanning culinary trope, has been on the rise in the South Asian city in recent years. This growing taste is what founder and chef Maria Mushtaq was counting on when she started Mariyah’s Den as a delivery service for ready-to-cook frozen dumplings which she made and sold from home in 2020, as people opened up to trying new recipes and dishes during coronavirus lockdowns.
“Then my husband, who is also a partner in this venture, said ‘The way you steam it [dumpling] and the way you make it and serve it in the sauce, it’s very unique, so, you should open a café’,” Mushtaq told Arab News in an interview earlier this month.
The first branch of Mariyah’s Den opened in Karachi in November 2021. Three years later, the cafe has another outlet in Karachi and one in Islamabad as well.
The restaurant serves nine types of dumplings including beef, chicken, lamb, prawn, a combination of prawn and chicken, vegetarian, mushroom and a sweet variety filled with chocolate.
“A lot of people did come up and say, ‘Oh, you’re very brave that you opened a restaurant just on the basis of one dish’,” Mushtaq said. “But I realized that in Karachi, we do have specific places where we go to eat specific foods like nihari and bun kebab so why not dumplings?”
The cafe was a “hit since day one,” the chef added.
“Dumplings as a dish in itself were not that popular a long time ago, but now people do consider that it’s a snack and they like it,” Mushtaq said, explaining that she had tweaked what she thought were the “bland flavors” of Chinese dumplings to Pakistani tastes.
The dumplings at Mariyah’s Den are also served in the sauce, rather than with the sauce of the side.
“Dumplings have been there for a very long time, it’s like a 2000-year-old Chinese dish and dumplings are present in every culture but everyone has adapted it to their own taste and liking,” Mushtaq said. “The Nepalese have their own version, we have mamtus in the mountains [of Pakistan].
Customers also said dumplings were the “perfect comfort food,” filled with both carbohydrates and protein ingredients. Others liked the ease of eating them.
“I think we live in an era of snack foods. Most people like me prefer [dumplings], because it’s instantly available to grab and go,” Mohammad Shams, who was visiting Mariyah’s Den earlier this month, told Arab News.
Ahmer Naqvi, a Pakistani culture and food critic, agreed that dumplings were a comfort food and “very common” across cultures.
“It’s actually one of the oldest and most familiar things going around, like a samosa,” he said, “It is a different dough texture but using the same logic. As a result of globalization, you are seeing a combination of a more Chinese style of the dumplings. It’s more popular now because of the ways it fits into modern life whether in terms of convenience or in terms of fusion.”
Dumplings were also very easy to cook and store, Naqvi added.
For the future, Mushtaq plans to expand her menu but wants to stay true to the cafe’s roots in Chinese flavors.
“We are slowly adding noodles also. So, we have chilly noodles. We have just added a soup bowl, which is noodles with chicken curry,” she said. “I think the genre is just going to be dumplings and we’d just keep on experimenting with that kind of food which is fast, not junk, and it’s very healthy.”
Team of global experts to arrive in Karachi to supervise relocation of elephant Madhubala to Safari Park
- Madhubala has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April last year after her companion, Noor Jehan, passed away from illness
- Animal rights activists in Pakistan have long demanded that animals, especially elephants, be shifted to ‘species-appropriate’ sanctuaries
KARACHI: A team of Four Paws, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, will soon arrive in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi to oversee the shifting of an elephant, Madhubala, to a new sanctuary at the city’s Safari Park, Four Paws said on Tuesday.
Madhubala, a female elephant, has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April 2023 after her companion, elephant Noor Jehan, passed away from illness. She is to be shifted to a sanctuary in Safari Park, where she will be in the company of two other elephants.
Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants alive in Pakistan, was brought to the South Asian country with three other elephants from Tanzania in 2009, with Four Paws experts saying earlier this year that solitary confinement had taken a strong toll on her.
Animal rights activists have long campaigned against the plight of animals in Pakistan, especially elephants, and demanded they be shifted to “species-appropriate” locations such as Safari Park.
“This marks a significant milestone in the efforts to ensure a safe and secure species-appropriate environment for African elephant Madhubala, who will have a chance to be united with her sisters Malika and Sonia,” Four Paws said in a statement, adding that the adaptation work at Karachi’s Safari Park had reached its final stage.
“As part of the final preparations, the focus now lies on completing the landscaping of the elephant enclosure at Safari Park, finalizing enrichment features, and continuing the necessary training of the three elephants, including resuming crate training for Madhubala.”
In addition to these tasks, complex logistical arrangements are being finalized and the exact relocation date of Madhubala will be announced in the coming weeks, according to Four Paws.
Madhubala will be carried from the Karachi Zoo to the Safari Park in a huge transport crate. The elephant is currently being trained to enter and exit the crate by herself and sit inside it.
