ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Wajiha Qamar, on Wednesday informed the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament that the southwestern deep-sea port at Gwadar was “fully operational” and equipped to handle all kinds of cargo.
Gwadar is on the Arabian Sea in the southwestern province of Balochistan, a mineral-rich region plagued by a decades-long separatist insurgency. China has invested heavily in the province, including by developing Gwadar, which is key to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses infrastructure and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), which operationally handles Gwadar, plans to eventually expand the port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year. Long term plans for the port require a total of 100 berths to be developed by 2045. For now, Gwadar is underutilized for commercial import and export due to reasons such as distance from the marketplaces of the country, security and services availability.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered that 50 percent of all public sector cargo be brought to Pakistan through Gwadar. The instructions subsequently received cabinet approval in September.
“The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that Gwadar Port is currently fully operational, equipped to handle general cargo, containers, and other operations,” Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday.
“Responding to a question during the Question Hour, Parliamentary Secretary Planning Development and Special Initiatives Wajiha Qamar said the Port accommodates vessels of up to 50,000 DWT [deadweight tonnage] and possesses the requisite infrastructure to support bulk cargo and container handling efficiently.”
She added that multiple shipments under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement had been successfully processed at the port.
In March this year, Pakistani security forces repulsed a gun and bomb attack by militants on a complex outside the strategic port of Gwadar, which killed all eight militants and two soldiers, officials said. In the same month, a suicide bomber killed five Chinese engineers traveling to a dam site in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Beijing has since publicly voiced concerns about the security of its workers and projects in Pakistan. Militants have also previously attacked Chinese nationals and targeted projects, viewing China as a foreign invader trying to gain control of the region’s resources.
The start of operations at a Chinese-funded airport in Gwadar was also pushed back for a security review this August after a string of deadly attacks by separatist militants in the Balochistan in which over 50 people were killed.
Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly
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Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly
- China Overseas Port Holding Company plans to eventually expand port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year
- Gwadar underutilized for import and export due to distance from marketplaces of the country, security and services availability
Pakistan to send second consignment of relief items to flood-hit Malaysia today
- Consignment comprises 40 tons of relief items such as tents, medicines and lifejackets
- Torrential rains and floods have killed at least 30 in Malaysia and Thailand since last week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will send a second consignment of relief items for flood-hit Malaysia via a chartered plane today, Wednesday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, reaffirming Islamabad’s solidarity with the Southeast Asian country.
Torrential rains and flooding in Malaysia and Thailand since last week have killed at least 30 people and affected over 500,000 households, marking the worst flooding for the countries in decades. Last week, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar offered help to Malaysia as it struggled to evacuate and rehabilitate people reeling from the floods.
“In line with the prime minister’s directive, NDMA has arranged and coordinated the second consignment of 40 tons of relief assistance to the flood-affected areas of Malaysia,” the NDMA said.
“The chartered plane carrying essential supplies, including tents, blankets, quilts, mats, sleeping bags and life jackets, will depart tonight from Islamabad International Airport to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.”
A send-off ceremony was held at the Islamabad International Airport on Wednesday which was attended by Federal Minister Amir Muqam, officials from the Malaysian embassy, Pakistan’s foreign ministry and NDMA representatives.
“The minister expressed sincere condolences for the loss of lives due to the floods in Malaysia and assured every possible assistance from the Government and people of Pakistan,” the NDMA added.
“He commended the dedicated efforts of NDMA teams and related officials for their swift mobilization of this relief initiative.”
Malaysian embassy officials expressed gratitude on behalf of their government and people for the “timely and generous” assistance during the calamity, the NDMA said.
The NDMA said Pakistanis continue to pray for Malaysia’s swift recovery from the floods, reaffirming their commitment to provide further support if required.
Pakistan sent its first shipment of 40 tons of relief items to Malaysia on Dec. 8.
Pakistan is one of the worst affected countries due to climate change impact, suffering cataclysmic floods in 2022 that killed over 1,700 people and destroyed critical infrastructure inflicting losses worth Rs33 billion.
Father, stepmother of British-Pakistani girl convicted of her murder
- Police found 10-year-old Sara Sharif’s body last year with dozens of injuries including bruising, burns and fractures
- Discovery was made after Sharif’s father told UK police from Pakistan he “legally punished her and she died”
LONDON: The father and stepmother of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her home in England were found guilty Wednesday of her murder.
Urfan Sharif, 42, was accused of Sara Sharif’s murder alongside his partner, 30-year-old Beinash Batool. His brother, 29-year-old Faisal Malik, was found guilty of causing or allowing the girl’s death.
Police found Sara’s body under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking, southwest of London, on Aug. 10, 2023, with dozens of injuries including extensive bruising, burns and fractures. A post-mortem examination concluded she died of unnatural causes.
Prosecutors have said that all three defendants played a part in a “campaign of abuse” against Sara in the weeks leading to her death. The three fled the UK for Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Aug. 9, the day after Sara was believed to have died.
The discovery was made after Urfan Sharif called UK police from Pakistan to say he had “legally punished her, and she died,” prosecutors said. He told the phone operator it wasn’t his intention to kill her but he had “beat her up too much,” they said.
Police in Pakistan found the three suspects after an extensive search and put them on a flight to the UK They were arrested upon arrival at London’s Gatwick Airport.
Batool and Malik had declined to give evidence. They denied involvement in the abuse.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones has said all three defendants lived in the same house as Sara and that it was “inconceivable” that just one of them had acted alone.
He alleged that each of the suspects sought to point the finger at the others. He said Sharif’s case was that Batool, Sara’s stepmother, was responsible for the girl’s death, and he made a false confession to protect her.
The jury heard a recording of a phone call made on the evening of Aug. 8, 2023, the day Sara was believed to have died, in which Batool could be heard asking about booking a flight to Islamabad for four adults and four children.
No deal yet for Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy cricket format
- Tournament hit a snag last month when India refused to allow its team to travel to Pakistan
- Stand-off means ICC is still unable to announce schedule for February 19 to March 19 event
KARACHI: The saga of next year’s cricket Champions Trophy drags on, with sources saying Thursday that no agreement has been reached on a proposed “hybrid” format allowing India to play their matches outside host nation Pakistan.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars since being carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947 and that rivalry is often reflected on the cricket field.
The eight-team tournament hit a snag last month when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the International Cricket Council (ICC) that their side would not compete in Pakistan over security fears and political tensions.
Sources speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP the PCB has agreed to the hybrid model — but only on condition that every ICC tournament taking place in India until 2027 follows the same format, with Pakistan not going to India.
Under the hybrid model, Pakistan will host the group matches but its high-profile clash with India will be played in Dubai.
The final would be held in Dubai or Lahore depending on whether the Indian side make it through.
But the BCCI is objecting to the tit-for-tat condition on its own hosting and to the proposal to play the final in Lahore if India do not qualify, the sources said.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is in Dubai, where the ICC has its headquarters, to finalize the arrangements, sources said.
The stand-off means the ICC is still unable to announce the schedule for the February 19 to March 19 event.
The arch-rivals only meet in ICC multi-national events, with the last bilateral series held when Pakistan toured India in 2012-13.
India last toured Pakistan to feature in the 2008 Asia Cup and have not played a bilateral series across the border for 18 years.
Pakistan were also forced to host last year’s Asia Cup on a hybrid model, with India’s matches and the final hosted in Sri Lanka.
India are set to co-host the next Twenty20 World Cup with Sri Lanka in 2026 in addition to the Champions Trophy in 2029 and co-host the 2031 World Cup with Bangladesh.
In the last few years, Pakistan has hosted the world’s top teams, emerging from cricketing isolation that began after a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009 in Lahore.
Pakistan has not hosted an ICC event since the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan says ‘deeply shocked’ as Afghan Taliban refugees minister killed in Kabul blast
- Khalil Haqqani became a minister in the Taliban’s interim government after foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021
- He was a senior leader of Haqqani network, a militant faction the US State Department blames for major attacks during 20-year war
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday Pakistan was “deeply shocked” as the Afghan Taliban’s acting minister for refugees, Khalil Rahman Haqqani, and six other people were killed in an explosion in the capital Kabul.
Khalil Haqqani became a minister in the Taliban’s interim government after foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. He was a senior leader of the Haqqani network, a militant faction blamed for major attacks during the 20-year war, according to the US State Department.
“We are deeply shocked at the death of Acting Afghan Minister, Khalil ur Rehman Haqqani and loss of precious lives as a result of a terrorist attack in the Afghan Refugee Ministry in Kabul today,” Dar said on X.
“We offer our heartfelt condolences. Pakistan unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We are in touch with the Interim Afghan Government to ascertain further details.”
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew, vowing to restore security, but attacks have continued in urban areas. In 2022, a blast took place near the interior ministry, led by Haqqani network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, killing four people. In 2023, Daesh claimed an attack outside the Taliban-run foreign ministry that killed at least five.
The US Treasury classified Khalil Haqqani as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in 2011 and the State Department offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
With inputs from Reuters
Pakistan Navy conducts joint drills with Omani, Spanish forces
- Pakistan Navy regularly collaborates and holds joint military exercises with allies
- Aim is to promote regional peace and stability and deter illicit maritime activities
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan navy said on Wednesday it had conducted joint naval exercises and drills with the Royal Oman ship ‘Alseeb’ and Spain’s ‘Santa Maria.’
Pakistan Navy regularly collaborates and holds joint military exercises with allies to increase synergy, promote regional peace and stability and deter piracy, drug trafficking and other illicit maritime activities.
“The exercise between Pakistan Navy and Royal Oman Navy was conducted during the Focused Operation ‘Karakoram Resolve’ of Pakistan-led Combined Task Force 150,” the Pakistan navy said in a statement, without specifying the location of the drill. “Pakistan Maritime Security Agency Ship Kashmir also participated in the Focused Operation.”
Bilateral naval exercise “Samar Al-Tayeb” is conducted regularly between the Pakistani and Omani navies.
“PNS Saif also conducted bilateral exercises with Spanish Navy Ship Santa Maria,” the Pakistan side said. “The aim of the exercises was to promote synergy between the navies present in the region.”
