ISLAMABAD: China has sent an inter-agency working group to join an investigation into last week’s bomb attack in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi that killed two Chinese nationals, Chinese state media reported, citing a foreign ministry spokesperson.
Two Chinese nationals among three people were killed and 10 others injured in the attack near the Karachi airport on Oct. 6, according to Pakistani and Chinese authorities. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Chinese nationals were targeted by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that Beijing quickly sent an inter-agency working group to Pakistan as part of its response to the attack on a Chinese convoy of the Port Qasim coal-fired power plant that killed and injured Chinese personnel, Chinese state-run CGTN news channel reported.
“After arriving in Islamabad on October 8, the working group immediately joined the Embassy in Pakistan and the company concerned in the emergency response,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the English-language news channel.
“The working group met intensively with heads of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, and military, police and intelligence departments, and asked the Pakistani side to properly handle ensuing matters, make every effort to save the injured, conduct thorough investigations, bring all the perpetrators to justice, and step up security measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan.”
Pakistan strongly condemned the attack and is fully dealing with the aftermath, investigating the incident and nailing down the perpetrators, according to the spokesperson. Islamabad has said it will further strengthen security measures and make all-out efforts to protect Chinese interests in Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week met Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and assured him of personally overseeing investigation into the militant attack and promised that those responsible would be brought to justice.
The Chinese ambassador expressed confidence in the Pakistani government’s “effective investigation, prompt identification of the responsible terrorists, and their swift punishment,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sunday’s attack is the latest by the BLA, the most prominent of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence for Pakistan’s gas-and-mineral-rich Balochistan province, where a low-lying insurgency has been ongoing for the past two decades. Baloch militants blame the Pakistani state for exploiting the province’s resources, a charge denied by state authorities.
The BLA also accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province and has attacked Chinese interests and projects in the past, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi.
Beijing sends team to Pakistan to join probe into Karachi bombing that killed two Chinese
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Beijing sends team to Pakistan to join probe into Karachi bombing that killed two Chinese
- Two Chinese nationals among three people were killed and 10 others injured in the bomb attack near the Karachi airport on Oct. 6
- Pakistan fully dealing with the aftermath, investigating the attack and nailing down the perpetrators, Chinese foreign ministry says
Pakistan Railways resumes train services from Quetta after militant attack on key bridge
- Jaffar Express and Bolan Mail departed the Quetta Railway Station in the morning on Friday
- BLA militants launched a series of attacks in August 26, destroying the historic bridge in Kolpur
QUETTA: Pakistan Railways on Friday resumed train service from Quetta to other parts of the country after an over month-long closure caused by an attack on a key bridge in the southwestern Balochistan province.
Built in 1887, the five-span bridge was the second such link constructed by the British Army at the Bolan Pass after reaching an agreement with the then Khan of Kalat, Meer Khuda-e-Dad Khan, to extend the railway network to Quetta and Chaman near the Afghan border.
The historic bridge was blown up on August 26, when dozens of armed militants from the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) launched a series of coordinated attacks across Balochistan, including shooting commuters on highways and carrying out suicide bombings in Lasbela, Musakhail, Kachi, Kalat and Mastung districts.
The attacks coincided with the 18th death anniversary of Baloch chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed in a military operation in 2006.
“Pakistan Railways restored the train service from Balochistan after 45 days of closure due to the terrorist attack on a key railway bridge in Kolpur,” Divisional Superintendent (DS) Quetta Kamran Hayat said while speaking to the media at the Quetta Railway Station on Friday.
“Strict security measures were already in place to maintain the security of the train and passengers, we don’t deal with security but separate security agencies are available and soldiers are deployed in the checkpoints established for train security in Balochistan.”
He said the Pakistan Railways had constructed the destroyed bridge in record time.
Earlier, the Quetta-Peshawar bound Jaffar Express departed from the station at 9 AM while the Quetta-Karachi bound Bolan Mail left an hour later at 10am.
Abdul Rehman, a passenger planning to travel on one the trains, lauded the restoration work and the resumption of the train service from Quetta.
“People faced hardships due to the suspension of the service because other intercity transportation means are usually quite costly for passengers,” he said, urging the railway department to restore other trains from Balochistan as well.
According to railway department estimates, train service suspension has caused around Rs40 million ($144,000) in revenue losses.
Balochistan has witnessed an uptick in violence by armed separatist groups in recent months, with militants blocking highways and attacking passengers, particularly those from Pakistan’s populous Punjab province.
The Baloch separatists blame the central government of exploiting the province’s vast mineral resources without benefiting its residents, a charge denied by the state which says it has launched several high-profile projects for the development of the region.
Russia’s Putin cements ties with Pakistani president in Central Asia meeting
- Asif Zardari and Vladimir Putin are in Ashgabat, attending an international forum on peace, cultural cooperation
- Pakistan and Russia have tried to strength their bilateral relations in recent year, particularly in trade and energy
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday on the sidelines of an international forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where they pledged to further strengthen bilateral ties, state media reported.
The event, organized by Turkmenistan, commemorates the 300th birth anniversary of Magtymguly Faragi, an 18th-century Turkmen thinker, poet and philosopher. The international gathering is significant since it brings together key figures from various regional nations to discuss peace, development and cultural cooperation.
Zardari, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, also interacted with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the forum.
“The informal interaction was held on the sidelines of a two-day international forum ... here in the Turkmen capital,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported, adding, “they emphasized further strengthening of bilateral relationships.”
“Both leaders expressed good wishes for each other,” it continued.
Earlier, the Pakistani president addressed the forum, underscoring the importance of regional cooperation, particularly in cultural and economic development.
He also highlighted the longstanding bond between Pakistan and Turkmenistan, saying it was built on shared history and values while expressing hope that the discussions would lead to strengthened cultural collaboration in the region.
Pakistan and Russia have also been trying to strengthen bilateral cooperation in recent year, particularly in trade and energy.
Last July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, where both leaders agreed to collaborate in agriculture, food security and investment.
IMF demand on special economic zones to dissuade China investments in Pakistan — Bloomberg
- IMF has asked Pakistan to refrain from providing incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies to any new or existing SEZs
- Pakistan has been wooing investors through special tax incentives, including exemptions on taxes and customs duties
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund has asked Pakistan to stop setting up any industrial zones that offer incentives for investment, Bloomberg reported on Friday, a dictate that could undermine Islamabad’s efforts to attract more Chinese industries into the South Asian country.
The IMF’s condition comes as part of the approval of a new $7 billion bailout package last month and as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tries to convince Chinese companies to shift more industries into Pakistan to give fresh momentum to projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. The country had planned to build at least nine special economic zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project that are at various stages of development.
“The authorities will refrain from providing incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies to any new or existing special economic zones,” Bloomberg reported, quoting an IMF report from Oct. 10. “This will help provide a level playing field for investment.”
The lender has asked Pakistan to offer a level playing field to businesses to attract investments without undermining the country’s tax base, according to Nathan Porter, IMF’s mission chief for Pakistan.
The country has provided protection or concessions to sectors that were low in productivity, he said in a briefing last month, which was why Pakistan hadn’t been able to achieve the kind of sustainable growth rates many of its regional peers have.
“The demand from IMF is expected to immediately hit a new export processing zone that the government plans to build at the site of Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital,” Bloomberg said.
Pakistan authorities, after securing the 37-month loan from the IMF in September, are working to invite about 100 major Chinese industries to invest in the textile parks that Ruyi Shandong Group will start building in its southern Sindh and central Punjab provinces later this year.
The Sharif government has been wooing investors through offering special tax incentives, including exemptions from paying taxes and customs duties on imported goods, to businesses set up in such industrial zones.
China has built major infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan to push its flagship CPEC corridor project that has helped the nation but left it burdened by huge debts.
Riyadh calls for enabling private sector investments within existing G2G mechanisms with Pakistan
- Pakistan and Saudi businesses signed over $2 billion in agreements and memorandums of understanding this week
- The deals have been signed during a visit to Islamabad by Saudi Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih said on Friday Riyadh and Islamabad needed to enable private sector investments within existing government-to-government mechanisms like the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC) and Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Coordination Committee for the Development of the Contracting Sector.
Islamabad and Riyadh signed an agreement to establish the SPSCC in 2021 to institutionalize and fast-track decision-making and implementation on political, security, economic and cultural areas of collaboration. The body aims to streamline bilateral cooperation between the two countries, particularly to remove hurdles in investment deals. Separately, Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Coordination Committee for the Development of the Contracting Sector was created in 2022 to work to upgrade the construction sector and tackle project delays and hurdles.
On Thursday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Al-Falih, who is on a three-day visit to Islamabad, oversaw the signing of over $2 billion in agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between Saudi and Pakistani businesses.
In comments televised on Pakistan’s state APP news agency on Friday, Al-Falih said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia needed to activate work under existing G2G frameworks such as the Permanent Coordination Committee, which is being led by Mohammad Bin Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri, a Saudi politician and minister-ranked adviser at the Royal Court, with Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik as his Pakistani counterpart.
“And he [Al-Tuwaijri] has elected to place the Pakistan portfolio within the Royal Court team because he wants to personally have his finger on the pulse of how we are managing [Pakistani investments],” Al-Falih said.
“Within the scope of the G2G, his excellency Al-Tuwaijri and his team have asked MISA [Ministry of Investment for Saudi Arabia] to take the lead on everything about investment, everything about channeling private sector funding, everything about risk mitigation, everything about investment protection, everything about privatization, everything about funding.
“Ultimately what we need to do is enable the private sector.”
The Saudi minister is in Pakistan with a delegation of over 130 businesspeople representing various sectors, including energy, mining, agriculture, tourism, construction, IT and industry. The visit comes as Islamabad seeks closer economic cooperation with friendly countries and regional allies, with the aim to attract foreign investment and shore up its $350 billion economy, beset by a prolonged economic crisis that has drained foreign exchange reserves and weakened the national currency.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in particular have been working closely in recent months to increase bilateral trade and investment, 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.
Two suspected Pakistani militants behind 2021 attack on Chinese killed in shootout
- Officials said the militants who had been sentenced to life imprisonment were being moved out of a prison due to a threat when some men attacked the police van
- The deceased militants were masterminds of the attack that had killed a total of 13 people, including the nine Chinese engineers, near Dasu in northwest Pakistan
LAHORE: Two militants involved in the 2021 attack that killed nine Chinese engineers were shot and killed in a shootout in a central Pakistani district on Friday, counter-terrorism officials said.
They said the militants who had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment were being moved out of a prison in Sahiwal district due to a threat when some men attacked the police van they were in.
Two of the five militants in the van were killed in cross-fire between police and the attackers, it said.
Those two were masterminds of the attack that had killed a total of 13 people, including the nine Chinese engineers, near a hydropwer plant in Dasu in northern Pakistan in July 2021.
Pakistan’s main cities, especially Islamabad, are on a high alert ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Conference (SCO) which is scheduled to be held in the capital on Oct 15-16.
Pakistan is seeking to curb all movements of Chinese nationals during the summit because of the risk that they could be attacked.
The shootout came within hours of an attack that killed over 20 miners in southwestern Balochistan province, the hotbed for separatist militants, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has been attacking Chinese nationals and their interests in the region.
