Pakistan explores media partnerships, joint ventures with China and Russia

Pakistan explores media partnerships, joint ventures with China and Russia
Pakistan Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Murtaza Solangi, meets with the Chinese Minister for National Radio and TV, Cao Shumin at the Television Festival 2023, organized by Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Nanjing, China on September 26, 2023. (Photo courtesy: cpecinfo.com/ website)
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Updated 26 September 2023
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Pakistan explores media partnerships, joint ventures with China and Russia

Pakistan explores media partnerships, joint ventures with China and Russia
  • Pakistan information minister is on visit to China for Television Festival 2023 organized by Shanghai Cooperation Organization
  • Solangi also held bilateral discussions with Chinese minister for TV and radio and Russia’s deputy information minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interim information minister, Murtaza Solangi, separately met Russian and Chinese officials this week and sought partnerships and collaboration in TV and radio projects as well as training initiatives and journalist delegation exchanges.

Solangi is on a visit to China for the Television Festival 2023 organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Nanjing on September 25. 

On the sidelines of the festival, the minister held bilateral discussions with the Chinese Minister for National Radio and TV, Cao Shumin, and Russia’s Deputy Minister for Information, Bela Cherkesova.

Addressing the SCO Television Festival here, Solangi said cooperation among its members in the fields of radio, television and other audio-visual products “was a manifestation of the success of the organization.”

“Collaboration in mainstream media and social media is very important to promote communication at the public level,” Solangi said, calling on SCO member countries to increase joint publication projects and documentaries.

In his meeting with the Chinese minister for radio and TV, the two politicians “expressed their resolve to enhance cooperation in the areas of television and radio and vowed to promote innovation in media technology and exchange of journalist delegations.”

The minister also called for initiating a Chinese Hour program on Pakistan’s state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) to promote the activities of Chinese media in Pakistan.

Solangi separately met with the Russian deputy information minister, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to promote cooperation in mass media and initiate joint production and training programs.

Cherkesova accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan. Noting the popularity of Pakistani television dramas in Russia, she discussed the possibility of exchanging plays and other productions between the two countries.

Pakistan and China are decades-old allies, especially through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of energy and infrastructure projects for which Beijing has pledged over $60 billion in Pakistan since 2015. Pakistan’s relations with Russia have also improved recently and Islamabad has brought oil on discounted rates from Moscow.
 


Pakistan arrests 17 suspects in connection to weekend bus shooting that killed 10 

Pakistan arrests 17 suspects in connection to weekend bus shooting that killed 10 
Updated 19 sec ago
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Pakistan arrests 17 suspects in connection to weekend bus shooting that killed 10 

Pakistan arrests 17 suspects in connection to weekend bus shooting that killed 10 
  • Security forces arrested the men from several areas in northern Gilgit Baltistan where the attack took place 
  • Security forces arrested the men from several areas in northern Gilgit Baltistan where the attack took place 

PESHAWAR: Police in Pakistan arrested at least 17 suspects in the weekend bus shooting that left 10 people dead and 25 others wounded, authorities said Monday. 

Security forces raided several areas in the northern Gilgit Baltistan region — where the attack took place — and arrested the men who were currently being questioned, local police chief Shah Wali said. 

He added that the death toll from the attack rose to 10 on Monday when one critically injured man died in hospital. 

The bus was carrying passengers from Gilgit to the city of Rawalpindi when it was shot at, causing the driver to lose control and crash into a truck, which in turn caught fire. Both drivers were killed on site. 

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, however, the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, have denied involvement in the shooting in a statement on Sunday. 

The TTP is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country. The group has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the past 15 years.


IT minister champions Pakistan as ‘emerging digital hub,’ eyes Qatar’s growing market

IT minister champions Pakistan as ‘emerging digital hub,’ eyes Qatar’s growing market
Updated 04 December 2023
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IT minister champions Pakistan as ‘emerging digital hub,’ eyes Qatar’s growing market

IT minister champions Pakistan as ‘emerging digital hub,’ eyes Qatar’s growing market
  • Dr. Umar Saif asks Pakistani tech firms to leverage the country’s diaspora to take foothold in the Qatari market
  • He says his country has potential to provide technological solutions and collaborate with companies in Qatar

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Information Technology Minister Dr. Umar Saif described Pakistan as the region’s emerging digital hub while addressing a conference in Doha on Monday, urging tech companies in his country to benefit from Qatar’s burgeoning market.

The Pakistani minister is leading his country’s first IT delegation to the Arab state with stated aim to attract investment and explore opportunities for local software houses and freelance developers.

In line with broader trends in the Gulf region, Qatar is actively diversifying its economy and focusing on the technology sector, taking smart city initiatives, launching tech start-ups and hosting technologically advanced events like the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The minister arrived in Doha on a five-day visit over the weekend and inaugurated an IT conference earlier in the day.

“Dr. Umar Saif has said that Pakistan is the emerging digital hub of the region where 30 thousand IT companies and more than 75 thousand IT graduates every year are the way to make this country the future information and communication technology (ICT) hub,” his ministry in Islamabad said in a press statement.

He also pointed out that Qatar was home to abundant Pakistani knowledge workers, asking Pakistani tech companies to leverage the country’s “resourceful diaspora to establish a foothold in the market.”

The Pakistani minister said his country had tremendous potential to provide technological solutions and collaborate with tech firms in Qatar, particularly in emerging fields like AI and cybersecurity.

He commended the Arab state for taking a big leap in establishing data centers and bringing Microsoft Azure Cloud, adding that Pakistan had a lot of capability in cloud management, data center operations and cloud applications.

He mentioned an upcoming gathering of investors and start-ups scheduled to be held in Qatar, hoping that Pakistan would benefit from it and expressing confidence that his country was poised to produce the next billion-dollar unicorn.


Ex-PM Khan wants US envoy summoned in state secrets case as court sets indictment date

Ex-PM Khan wants US envoy summoned in state secrets case as court sets indictment date
Updated 04 December 2023
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Ex-PM Khan wants US envoy summoned in state secrets case as court sets indictment date

Ex-PM Khan wants US envoy summoned in state secrets case as court sets indictment date
  • Khan expresses refusal to strike a deal with state authorities for his release from high-security prison
  • The ex-premier’s party criticizes the prison authorities for restricting media presence during the trial

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday asked a special court hearing a case against him on charges of leaking state secrets to summon the American envoy and a retired army general during his trial at a high-security prison in Rawalpindi, his lawyer said.
The court was established in August to hear what has popularly come to be called the cipher case, which was filed against Khan under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
According to its details, the former PM divulged the contents of an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad which he says proved that his ouster from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. US authorities have repeatedly denied the accusation.
Khan initially faced an in-camera prison trial in the case. However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled this month that such hearings were illegal and ordered an open trial with media access.
“Imran Khan has requested the summoning of the US embassy representative and also named a former general,” Babar Awan, a senior lawyer representing the ex-premier, told the media outside the jail.

His statement was widely believed to be a reference to former army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, who has been accused by the former prime minister of bringing down his administration at the behest of the US.
Earlier, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party issued a brief statement, saying the prison authorities had once again tried to restrict media presence despite similar concerns raised by its legal team during the last hearing.
“Unfortunately, media wasn't given access to today's hearing, too,” the PTI said. “Only 2-3 handpicked journalists were allowed in, in the name of [an] open court hearing. Of course, no public was allowed.”
According to local media, Khan stated his refusal to strike a deal with the government and state authorities for his release from prison.
He reiterated that his party would win the next general elections in the country, adding that his political rivals were still attempting to avoid the electoral process.
The court decided to indict Khan in the cipher case on December 12.


Pakistani industrialists halt production to protest gas tariff hike, causing $48 million export loss

Pakistani industrialists halt production to protest gas tariff hike, causing $48 million export loss
Updated 04 December 2023
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Pakistani industrialists halt production to protest gas tariff hike, causing $48 million export loss

Pakistani industrialists halt production to protest gas tariff hike, causing $48 million export loss
  • The government raised gas tariffs between 100 to 130 percent ahead of the IMF review in November
  • Representative of a local industrial alliance says the decision is making Pakistani products uncompetitive

KARACHI: Pakistani industrialists in the country’s commercial capital of Karachi switched off their production facilities on Monday to protest about 100 percent rise in gas tariffs, resulting in an estimated $48 million loss to the country’s export earnings.
The government announced a sharp increase in the price of natural gas for most households and industries in October this year to meet a key condition imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of its first review under a $3 billion bailout program.
Gas tariffs for industry have been raised by about Rs2,600 per metric million British thermal unit (mmbtu), which industry leaders say should be brought down to Rs1,350.
“Nearly 80 to 90 percent industries in Sindh and Balochistan have shut down operations in response to a strike call given to protest the unviable gas tariffs,” Jawed Bilwani, Chief Coordinator of Karachi Industrial Alliance (KIA), told Arab News on Monday.
He said the industrial shutdown in the two provinces was likely to make the country suffer about $48 million losses due to a reduction in exports.
The KIA chief coordinator said the gas tariff hike, ranging from 100 to 130 percent, was driving industries to collapse.
“Some of the industries have been closed while others are on the verge of collapse,” Bilwani said, adding that over 100 percent tariff hike was making Pakistan’s “industrial production unviable and uncompetitive in the international market.”
“The government says this step [to raise gas tariffs] is to curtail circular debt,” he continued. “But neither our industries are responsible for this debt nor they are contributing to it.”
Local industrialists noted the government was charging them to pay subsidies to other sectors. They also pointed out that energy line losses were far higher when it came to domestic consumers than industries.
“Nowhere in the world, export-oriented industries are burdened with cross-subsidy to benefit other sectors,” Bilwani said. “But this is happening in Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s energy woes stem from its fast-depleting local gas reserves at a pace of five to seven percent annually, making the country rely on expensive imported fuel as a result.
Inadequate gas pricing during the tenure of previous governments dented the national exchequer and created a circular debt stock of Rs2.1 trillion without including interest, according to a note released by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) earlier this month.
Pakistan is 71.3 percent self-sufficient in natural gas production, with annual average daily consumption of 4,100 mmcfd and production of 2,923 mmcfd.
The country previously raised gas tariffs in January – its first increase in the last 2.5 years – that resulted in an increase of Rs461 billion during the last fiscal year.
OGRA says if the caretaker administration of the country does not proceed to increase prices and fund the RLNG diversion to domestic segment in the absence of subsidies, there shall be a further addition in circular debt of about Rs400 billion ($1.42 billion).
The caretaker commerce minister and ministry of energy did not respond to requests for comments until the filing of this story.


Indonesia advances early closure of coal plant under ADB’s energy transition effort involving Pakistan

Indonesia advances early closure of coal plant under ADB’s energy transition effort involving Pakistan
Updated 04 December 2023
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Indonesia advances early closure of coal plant under ADB’s energy transition effort involving Pakistan

Indonesia advances early closure of coal plant under ADB’s energy transition effort involving Pakistan
  • The deal, announced during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, aims to cut global carbon emissions
  • ADB says it wants to support two other countries with energy transition under the same plan soon

DUBAI: Indonesia and the Asian Development Bank have agreed a provisional deal with the owners of the Cirebon-1 coal-fired power plant to shutter it almost seven years earlier than planned, a principal energy specialist for climate change at the ADB told Reuters.

The deal, announced during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Sunday, is the first under the ADB’s Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) program, which aims to help countries cut their climate-damaging carbon emissions.

Supporting a $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership agreed last year that aims to bring forward the sector’s peak emissions date to 2030, the ADB hopes to replicate it across other countries in the region.

“If we don’t address these coal plants, we’re not going to meet our climate goals,” David Elzinga, ETM team leader, said on the sidelines of the conference.

“By doing this pilot transaction, we are learning what it takes to make this happen,” Elzinga said. “We’re very much shaping this as something we want to take to other countries.”

ADB also has active ETM programs in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and is considering transactions in two other countries, it said.

Under the non-binding framework deal, signed by ADB, Indonesian state-owned power utility company PT PLN, independent power producer PT Cirebon Electric Power (CEP) and the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), a power purchase agreement for the 660 megawatt plant — a key supplier to the capital Jakarta — will be ended in December 2035 instead of a planned date of July 2042.

As it only opened in 2012, the plant, operated by CEP, could have been expected to run for 40 or more years, so retiring it in 2035 would avoid over 15 years of greenhouse gas emissions from the site, the ADB said.

The deal is subject to due diligence, including assessing its impact on the environment, the company’s workers and society more broadly, and the broader electricity system, but is expected to close in the first half of 2024.