ISLAMABAD: China on Friday launched Pakistan’s indigenously developed Electro-Optical (EO-1) satellite into space that aims to predict natural disasters and monitor resources, Chinese and Pakistani state media reported.
The EO-1 satellite was launched from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The launch represents the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission’s (SUPARCO) dedication and expertise in advancing Pakistan’s technological capabilities in space science.
The satellite will enhance the country’s ability to monitor and manage natural resources, predict and respond to natural disasters, support food security and drive economic growth through informed decision-making and sustainable development.
“The satellite, named PRSC-EO1, was launched at 12:07 p.m. (Beijing time) by a Long March-2D carrier rocket and entered its planned orbit successfully,” Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
“The rocket also carried two other satellites, namely Tianlu-1 and Lantan-1.”
The launch marked the 556th flight mission involving China’s Long March carrier rocket series, which was launched in 1970.
In urban development, the EO-1 satellite can help track infrastructure growth, manage urban sprawl and aid city and regional planning efforts. It will provide timely updates on floods, landslides, earthquakes, deforestation and land erosion in terms of environmental monitoring and disaster management, according to Pakistani state media.
The satellite will also support extraction and conservation strategies for natural resources, such as the monitoring of minerals, oil and gas fields, glacier recession and water resources.
Pakistan has witnessed erratic, frequent changes in its weather patterns, including floods, droughts, cyclones, torrential rainstorms, heatwaves and the slow-onset threat of glacial melting, in recent years that scientists have blamed on human-driven climate change.
In 2022, unusually heavy rains triggered floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting economic losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.
“Designed and developed entirely by Pakistani engineers, EO-1 satellite is expected to provide substantial benefits across various sectors,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported on Friday.
Pakistan has taken strides in its space research program in the past few months. In Nov. last year, SUPARCO announced its rover will join China’s Chang’E 8 mission to explore the moon’s surface in 2028.
In May 2024, Pakistan launched its first lunar satellite aboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe, which was tasked with landing on the far side of the moon that perpetually faces away from the Earth. China was the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.
China launches Pakistani indigenous satellite aimed at predicting natural disasters
https://arab.news/gnmc8
China launches Pakistani indigenous satellite aimed at predicting natural disasters
- The satellite was launched from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:07 p.m.
- It can provide timely updates on floods, landslides, earthquakes and glacier recession
Over 40 Pakistanis feared dead in migrant boat disaster off African coast
- Hundreds of Pakistanis die every year while trying to reach Europe by land and sea
- In 2023, nearly 350 Pakistanis were on board a fishing boat that capsized near Greece
ISLAMABAD: More than 40 Pakistanis are feared to have drowned in the capsizing of a boat off West Africa’s Atlantic coastline, which has emerged as a primary point of departure for migrants aiming to reach Europe.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the deaths and stressed the need for strict measures to curb human trafficking.
Zardari’s comments in a statement late Thursday came after a Spain-based migrant rights group, Walking Borders, said 50 people had died on their way to the Canary Islands and that 44 of them were Pakistanis. The group said the migrants began their journey on Jan. 2.
Pakistan said it had been informed by its embassy in Morocco that a boat carrying 80 passengers, including some Pakistanis, had set off from Mauritania and capsized near Dakhla, a Moroccan-controlled port city in the disputed Western Sahara.
Millions of people migrate to Europe each year, the vast majority using legal and regular means. Less than 240,000 people crossed borders into the continent without papers last year, according to the European Union’s border agency Frontex.
As authorities have worked to prevent migration and smuggling from countries in the Mediterranean Sea, more dangerous routes have become increasingly used. Frontex reported more than 50,000 migrants made the journey from northwest Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands in 2024, including 178 Pakistanis.
Walking Borders said in a report last week that 9,757 people had died or gone missing trying to cross to the islands, calling the route “the deadliest in the world.”
The islands are roughly 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the closest point in Africa, but to avoid security forces, many migrants attempt longer journeys that can take days or weeks. The majority last year departed from Mauritania, which is at least 473 miles (762 kilometers) from the closest Canary Island, El Hierro.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said several survivors, including Pakistanis, are staying in a camp near Dakhla. Pakistan’s Embassy in Morocco is in touch with local authorities and officials have gone to Dakhla to help survivors, according to a ministry statement.
The ministry did not say how many Pakistanis had died. Officials at the ministry were not immediately available for comment on Friday.
Hundreds of Pakistanis die every year while trying to reach Europe by land and sea with the help of human smugglers.
In 2023, an estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants that sank off Greece. Many perished in what was one of the deadliest incidents in the Mediterranean Sea.
Pakistan says it has launched a crackdown on human traffickers.
New feeder service launched between Dubai and Karachi to strengthen trade ties
- UAE has been modernizing Pakistani ports, trying to turn the South Asian country into a transit trade hub
- Pakistan aims to bolster economy, attract international trade opportunities by optimizing global sea lanes
ISLAMABAD: DP World, in collaboration with Pakistan’s National Logistics Corporation (NLC), launched a feeder service this week to transport shipping containers from Dubai to Karachi, state media reported.
A global logistics giant operating in over 75 countries, DP World specializes in port operations, terminal management and logistics services. Feeder services use smaller vessels to transport containers between regional ports, reducing shipping costs and transit time.
“DP World and National Logistics Corporation (NLC) have started the feeder service for shipping containers from Dubai’s Jebel Ali port to Karachi,” Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.
“The Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, inaugurated the feeder service,” it added.
The weekly service promises faster and more reliable container delivery, directly benefiting the business community and boosting economic activity in the region.
The initiative also aims to enhance trade connectivity and strengthen economic ties between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan.
The UAE, one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners, has played a key role in modernizing the South Asian country’s ports and establish them as transit trade hubs. By optimizing global sea lanes, Pakistan seeks to bolster its economy and attract greater international trade opportunities.
Top officials from DP World, NLC and Port Qasim attended the launch ceremony, highlighting the strategic importance of this initiative for regional trade dynamics.
Pakistan recorded highest ever monthly IT exports of $348 million in Dec. 24 — data
- Exports were up 28% year-on-year in the first half of fiscal year 2025
- Growth comes amid concerns over slow Internet speed, VPN restrictions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded the highest ever monthly IT exports of $348 million, up by 15 percent year-on-year and 12 percent month-on-month in Dec. 2024, while exports were up 28 percent year-on-year in the first half of fiscal year 2025, data from the Topline Securities brokerage house showed on Friday.
The growth figures come as associations and businesses have expressed alarm over slowing Internet speeds since last year, as the federal government moves to implement a nationwide firewall to block malicious content, protect government networks from attacks, and allow the government to identify IP addresses associated with what it calls “anti-state propaganda.” The government has also been cracking down on VPN use for months, with the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) announcing that businesses and freelancers would be able to legally use VPNs by registering with the government, but unregistered VPNs would be blocked in Pakistan after Nov. 30, 2024. The deadline was later withdrawn, and a new one has not been announced.
The use of VPNs has sharply risen in Pakistan since February last year when the government banned X soon after allegations of rigging in general elections surfaced. The election commission denies them.
In a report released on Friday, Topline said monthly IT exports in Dec. 2024 were higher than the last 12 month’s average of $299 million. This is the 15th consecutive month of YoY IT export growth, starting from Oct. 2023. This takes IT exports for the first half of fiscal year 2025 to $1.86 billion, up by 28 percent YoY. Export proceeds per day were recorded at $16.6 million for Dec. 24, compared to $14.8 million in Nov. 24.
“YoY jump in IT exports is due to (1) IT export companies growing client base globally, especially in GCC region, (2) relaxation in the permissible retention limit by the State Bank of Pakistan, increasing it from 35 percent to 50 percent in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts, (3) allowance of equity investment abroad through these foreign currency accounts and (4) stability in PKR encouraging IT exporters to bring higher portion of profits back to Pakistan,” the Topline report said.
“Pakistani IT companies are active in engaging with global clients. Recently leading IT companies of Pakistan attended Oslo Innovation Week 2024, and Pak-US Tech Investment Conference.”
According to a Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey, 62 percent of IT companies are maintaining specialized foreign currency accounts.
A major development in FY25 was the state bank adding a new category of Equity Investment Abroad (EIA), specifically for export-oriented IT companies. IT exporters can now acquire interest (shareholding) in entities abroad utilizing up to 50 percent proceeds from specialized foreign currency accounts.
“This development will further boost confidence of IT exporters to remit proceeds back to Pakistan,” Topline said.
“We believe, IT sector will continue its growth trajectory and momentum with likely growth of 10-15 percent for FY25 to $3.5-3.7bn. Under ‘Uraan Pakistan’ national economic plan, the government has set a target of $10bn IT exports by FY29. This implies a target CAGR of 28 percent till FY29.”
Last August, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) warned that frequent Internet disruptions and low speeds caused by poor implementation of the national firewall had led many multinational companies to consider relocating their offices out of Pakistan, with some having “already done so.”
The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), the country’s top representative body for the IT sector, warned last year Internet slowdowns and the restriction of VPN services could lead to financial losses and closures and increase operational costs for the industry by up to $150 million annually.
Pakistan starts trainings for pilgrims selected for Hajj 2025 under government scheme
- Trainings to be held at 147 locations across country, first session in Peshawar Saturday
- First phase of mandatory Hajj trainings will be completed on Feb. 27, religious affairs ministry says
ISLAMABAD: The ministry of religious affairs has started mandatory training sessions for Pakistani nationals selected to perform this year’s Hajj pilgrimage under the government scheme, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.
Earlier this month, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Hajj agreement 2025 under which 179,210 pilgrims from the South Asian country will perform the annual pilgrimage this year. The quota is divided equally between government and private schemes.
“Hajj training will be provided at one hundred and forty seven locations across the country,” Radio Pakistan reported, quoting a statement from the religious affairs ministry. “The first session of the training workshop will be held in Peshawar tomorrow [Saturday].”
The attendance of Hajj pilgrims at the trainings will be ensured through a QR code in the Pak Hajj mobile app, the report said. Overseas Pakistanis will also receive training at their respective Hajji camps prior to embarking on the journey.
“The first phase of mandatory Hajj training will be completed on 27th of next month [February],” the report added.
Pakistan’s Hajj policy has allowed pilgrims to make payments in installments for the first time. Under this scheme, the first installment of Rs200,000 ($717) had to be submitted with the application, the second installment of Rs400,000 ($1,435) within 10 days of balloting and the remaining amount by Feb. 10 this year.
The Pakistani religious affairs ministry has also launched the Pak Hajj 2025 mobile application, available for both Android and iPhone users, to guide pilgrims.
Additionally, the government announced a reduction in airfare, lowering ticket prices for federal program pilgrims to Rs220,000 [$785.41], down from last year’s Rs234,000 [$835.39].
Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Airlines, and private carriers have agreed to transport pilgrims this year.
What are the cases against Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khan and his wife?
- Khan, who was ousted from office in 2022, has been behind bars for more than a year
- On Friday, ex-PM was convicted of receiving land in bribe from a real estate developer
A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years in a land corruption case, his legal team said.
The verdict in the case, the largest in terms of financial wrongdoing faced by Khan, was delivered by an anti-graft court in a prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan has been jailed since August 2023.
Here are some of the allegations against the 72-year-old former cricket star, named in dozens of cases since he was ousted from office in 2022 that have kept him behind bars for more than a year.
GRAFT ALLEGATIONS
On Friday, Khan was convicted on charges that he and his wife were gifted land by a real estate developer during his premiership from 2018 to 2022 in exchange for illegal favors.
He was first arrested in May 2023 in this case, on allegations that the couple received land worth up to 7 billion rupees ($25.12 million) as a bribe through a trust created in 2018.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has maintained the land was donated for charitable purposes.
Bibi was taken into custody on Friday after being released on bail in October in another case.
STATE GIFTS
\Khan was arrested in August 2023 for allegedly selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees that he received during his premiership and which belonged in state possession. Khan and Bibi were indicted on fresh charges in December after they were sentenced in two other versions of the case, although the sentences have been suspended. The couple has denied any wrongdoing.
ABETTING VIOLENCE
Khan faces anti-terrorism charges in connection with the violence that followed his arrest in May 2023, and in relation to which several of his supporters have already been sentenced.
He was indicted in December and is on trial.
STATE SECRETS
Khan was accused of making public a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in 2022, while he still held office. He was acquitted in the case in June.
UNLAWFUL MARRIAGE
Khan and his wife were accused of breaking Islamic law by failing to observe the mandated waiting period between Bibi’s divorce from her previous husband and their marriage in 2018. They were acquitted of the charges in July.
