You are here

  • Home
  • Pakistan, China reaffirm commitment to ‘CPEC 2.0’ focusing on industrialization

Pakistan, China reaffirm commitment to ‘CPEC 2.0’ focusing on industrialization

Pakistan, China reaffirm commitment to ‘CPEC 2.0’ focusing on industrialization
In this file photograph taken on October 14, 2024, and released by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Office, China’s Premier Li Qiang (2R) and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (2L) attend their delegation level talks at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: PMO)
Short Url

https://arab.news/yshwh

Updated 11 January 2025
Follow

Pakistan, China reaffirm commitment to ‘CPEC 2.0’ focusing on industrialization

Pakistan, China reaffirm commitment to ‘CPEC 2.0’ focusing on industrialization
  • Since 2013, CPEC has seen tens of billions of dollars funneled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan
  • CPEC 2.0 will focus on industrialization and special economic zones as well as on clean energy, agriculture and livelihood projects
Updated 11 January 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR
Follow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have resolved to undertake high-quality of development of a second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC 2.0, that would focus on industrialization, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The statement came after a 5th meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) was held in Beijing. It was co-chaired by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.
China and Pakistan enjoy a close strategic partnership, with the latter’s location on the Arabian Sea providing Beijing an overland route toward the Gulf of Aden and onto the Suez Canal, and enabling Chinese ships to avoid the potential chokepoint of the Malacca Strait.
During the delegation level talks, the two sides reviewed with satisfaction the progress made since the 4th meeting of the JWG-ICC held in Islamabad in January 2024, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the high quality development of CPEC 2.0, with its emphasis on industrialization and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as well as on clean energy, agriculture and livelihood projects,” it said in a statement.
“The meeting also acknowledged the pivotal role of CPEC in promoting regional connectivity, win-win cooperation and common prosperity, including through partnerships with other countries.”
Since its initiation in 2013, CPEC has seen tens of billions of dollars funneled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan. But the undertaking has been hit by Islamabad struggling to keep up its financial obligations as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants.
During a visit to China in June last year, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced both countries had mutually decided to enhance economic cooperation that would enter its next phase with five new corridors.
The Chinese vice foreign minister said 2.0 would focus on growth, livelihood and innovation, and reinforce Pakistan’s national development framework centered on ‘5 Es,’ representing exports, e-Pakistan, energy, environment and equity.
Foreign Secretary Baloch described CPEC as the cornerstone of China-Pakistan economic cooperation as well as a “shining symbol” of the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Both sides expressed resolve to deepen cooperation in the fields of media, cultural exchanges and people-to-people linkages to accelerate the building of a “China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future in the New Era.”
Separately, both countries also held a 4th round of Pakistan-China Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC), at which they reaffirmed commitment to further deepening their partnership.
The two sides also exchanged views on a range of regional and international issues and agreed to further enhance their mutual coordination and consultations, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
“Both sides agreed to further deepen their mutual partnerships in sectors such as information technology, agriculture and clean energy, driven by the concept of win-win cooperation and pursuit of people centric, inclusive development,” it said.
“The two sides underscored the need to strengthen their mutual coordination at the multilateral forums, including at the United Nations Security Council.”
Later, the foreign secretary also held a meeting with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and exchanged views on Pakistan-China relations as well as regional and international issues of common interest.

Topics: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Pakistan China Ties

Pakistan revises solar net-metering buyback rate to ease burden on grid consumers

Pakistan revises solar net-metering buyback rate to ease burden on grid consumers
Updated 13 March 2025
Follow

Pakistan revises solar net-metering buyback rate to ease burden on grid consumers

Pakistan revises solar net-metering buyback rate to ease burden on grid consumers
  • Economic Coordination Committee allows power regulatory authority to revise electricity buyback rate periodically
  • Committee says decision taken due to “significant increase” in solar consumers, financial burden on grid consumers
Updated 13 March 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Thursday revised the buyback rate for solar net-metering electricity from Rs27 per unit to Rs10 per unit, saying the move was intended to ease the burden on grid consumers. 

The net-metering policy approved in 2017 allows homeowners and businesses to generate electricity using solar panels and export any excess to the national grid. In Pakistan, it is a billing system where consumers receive credits or monetary compensation for the surplus electricity they send to the grid. 
Pakistan’s energy ministry said in April 2024 that the subsidy burden due to the net-metering policy is being shared by the government, domestic and industrial electricity consumers for other affluent consumers who are capable of generating power from solar panels. 

The ECC met under Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to approve a set of amendments to the existing net-metering regulations, a press release from the Finance Division said. 

“As part of the approved changes, the ECC has revised the buyback rate from the National Average Power Purchase Price (NAPP) to Rs 10 per unit,” the Finance Division said. 

“Furthermore, the committee allowed the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to revise this buyback rate periodically, ensuring that the framework remains flexible and aligned with evolving market conditions.”

It added that the new framework would not apply to existing net-metered consumers who have a valid license, concurrence or agreement under the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Alternative & Renewable Energy) Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations, 2015.

“Any such agreements will remain effective until the expiration of the license or agreement, whichever occurs first,” it said, ensuring the rights and obligations of these consumers, including agreed-upon rates, will continue as per existing terms.

The statement said the ECC also approved an updated settlement mechanism, under which exported electricity units would be purchased at the new buyback rate of Rs10 per unit, while imported units would be billed at the applicable peak and off-peak rates, inclusive of taxes and surcharges.

The ECC said that these amendments were made after a record decline in solar panel prices that led to a sharp increase in the number of solar net-metering consumers.

“As of December 2024, solar net-metering consumers had transferred a burden of Rs 159 billion to grid consumers,” it said.

The statement also highlighted the need for regulatory reforms to ensure balance in the energy distribution system, noting that 80 percent of net-metering consumers are concentrated in nine major cities.

Pakistan has ideal climatic conditions for solar power generation, with most areas receiving over nine hours of sunlight daily. According to the World Bank, using just 0.071 percent of the country’s land for solar photovoltaic (solar PV) power could meet its electricity demand.

With a population of 241 million, Pakistan aims to transition to 60 percent renewable energy by 2030 and reduce projected emissions by 50 percent. Despite recent growth in solar power adoption, the country is still far from achieving these goals.

Topics: solar power

Pakistan says train hijacking ‘orchestrated’ from Afghanistan, urges Kabul to rein in militants

Pakistan says train hijacking ‘orchestrated’ from Afghanistan, urges Kabul to rein in militants
Updated 13 March 2025
Follow

Pakistan says train hijacking ‘orchestrated’ from Afghanistan, urges Kabul to rein in militants

Pakistan says train hijacking ‘orchestrated’ from Afghanistan, urges Kabul to rein in militants
  • Separatist Baloch Liberation Army outfit stormed train in Balochistan on Tuesday, held over 400 passengers hostage 
  • Analysts say attack reflects “strategic shift” in BLA’s approach of moving away from just military targets to civilians 
Updated 13 March 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said on Thursday a train hijacking by separatist militants in southwestern Balochistan was orchestrated from neighboring Afghanistan, calling on Kabul to crackdown on insurgents operating from its soil.

Militants blew up the rail tracks and opened fire on the Jaffar Express as it made its way to Peshawar in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Quetta, the capital of mineral-rich Balochistan, on Tuesday. 

Separatist groups are fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the southwestern mineral-rich province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. Balochistan is also home to key other mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold, and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. Though Pakistan’s largest province by area, Balochistan is the smallest by population. Balochistan also has a long Arabian Sea coastline, not far from the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane.

The decades-old insurgency has continued to keep the province of some 15 million people unstable and created security concerns around Pakistan’s plans to access untapped resources. 

A total of 21 hostages and four security troops were killed in the latest standoff, according to the military, but the BLA — the largest of Balochistan’s armed ethnic groups battling the government, which claimed the attack — said 50 hostages were executed.

On Wednesday night, the military said the day-long rescue operation had ended, with 21 hostages and four security troops killed.

“The latest terrorist attack against Jaffar Express near Sibi, Balochistan, was also orchestrated and directed by terrorist ringleaders operating from abroad,” Khan said in a weekly press briefing. 

“Terrorists were in direct communications with Afghanistan-based planners throughout the incident.”

The spokesman said Pakistan had repeatedly asked the interim Afghan government to deny the use of its soil to terror groups.

“We urge Afghanistan to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers of this reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and cooperate with the government of Pakistan to bring all those who are concerned with this attack, including the real sponsors of terrorism, to justice.”

Khan added that the government remained determined to take care of the problem of terrorism “aggressively.”

“STRATEGIC SHIFT?”

The BLA is the strongest of a number of insurgent groups long operating in Balochistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran. The insurgents have been fighting to lay a claim to local resources which they say belong to their people.

Balochistan’s mountainous and remote border regions serves as a safe haven and training ground for the Baloch island other militants. 

The BLA shocked the country’s security establishment when it stormed army and navy bases in 2022. Last August it conducted a series of coordinate attacks in Balochistan in which over 50, including troops, were killed. It has deployed women suicide bombers in recent years, including in an attack on Chinese nationals at a university in Karachi and a bombing in southwest Balochistan. An umbrella group of several Baloch ethnic groups said last week that it had convened all factions in a bid to unite them under a unified military structure. A dormant BLA splinter group called BLA (AZAD) became active in recent weeks.

Hundreds of Baloch activists, many of them women, have protested in Islamabad and Balochistan over alleged abuses by security forces — accusations the government denies.

Islamabad accuses India and Afghanistan of backing the militants to damage Pakistan’s relations with China, a charge both countries deny.

Speaking to Arab News, security analysts described Tuesday’s hijacking of the train as a “strategic shift” by the BLA in terms of moving away from just military targets to unarmed civilians.

“This may give them instant public and media attention but will weaken their support base within the civilian population which is their ultimate objective,” Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security analyst, told Arab News. “This attack on train passengers will reduce sympathy for BLA and improve public support for military action against terrorists.”

Another security analyst, Dr. Qamar Cheema, Executive Director at the Sanober Institute, said the real challenge was the vast and mountainous terrain of Balochistan, which militant organizations were able to exploit. 

He said Pakistan needed to invest in more technology including drones, artificial intelligence and other advanced systems, to monitor and manage remote areas in Balochistan where there was little to no population presence.

Dr. Talat Shabbir, director of the China Pakistan Study Center at the Institute of Strategic Studies, said the BLA’s attack on a passenger train is a reflection of its increasing capacity to carry out acts of “terrorism” and killing people on a larger scale. 

“This also speaks of some gaps somewhere due to which terrorists could have that intelligence to carry out such an operation,” he told Arab News.

However, Shabbir acknowledged that Pakistan’s security forces also responded swiftly to effectively manage the situation.

He said the train hijacking would not only impact investor confidence in Balochistan, but also create a “ripple effect” across the country.

“The solution to this problem lies in simultaneously implementing security measures to suppress terrorist attacks and politically engaging with the people of Balochistan,” he added. 

Brig. (Retd.) Masud Ahmed Khan, a defense analyst, said the main target of the attacks was the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project in Balochistan with Chinese investment. 

“The real target is CPEC and Chinese investment, with an aim to destabilize Balochistan and target Chinese interests in the province,” Khan said. 

With inputs from Reuters

Topics: Jaffar Express

Pakistan PM calls for national unity to address Balochistan crisis after train hijacking

Pakistan PM calls for national unity to address Balochistan crisis after train hijacking
Updated 13 March 2025
Follow

Pakistan PM calls for national unity to address Balochistan crisis after train hijacking

Pakistan PM calls for national unity to address Balochistan crisis after train hijacking
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif chairs high-level meeting to review security situation in Balochistan 
  • Separatist BLA outfit stormed train in southwest Pakistan on Tuesday, held over 400 hostages 
Updated 13 March 2025
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday called on political parties to forge unity to combat surging militancy in southwestern Balochistan province, a day after the military announced it had conducted a successful operation against separatists who hijacked a passenger train with over 400 people on board, rescuing hostages and killing 33 militants.

The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had bombed part of a railway track and stormed the train on Tuesday afternoon in Mushkaaf, a rugged area in the mountainous Bolan range of Balochistan.

Security forces had killed militant suicide bombers sitting among the hostages before swiftly executing the rescue operation and securing the Quetta-Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express on Wednesday night, the military said, adding that 21 hostages had been killed in the episode. 

Sharif chaired a high-level meeting in Balochistan’s provincial capital Quetta on Thursday to review the security situation in the province, with senior officials including Chief Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti in attendance. 

“If there ever was a need for something more than before, it is national unity and national alliance,” Sharif told participants of the meeting in a televised address. 

“We will keep on doing our politics and keep on saying what we want to say but on this one issue, that we must save this country from these khawarij, this trial, this terrorism, we must become united,” he added. 

The prime minister said his government would “soon” convene a meeting to discuss the Balochistan crisis. He called for Pakistan’s political leadership to sit with the military to discuss the challenges that the country was facing.

Sharf said Pakistan can’t prosper until the pace of development in Balochistan catches up to that of other provinces. 

“Peace can’t be established in Pakistan until terrorism is completely eliminated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” he said. 

Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest in terms of landmass, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency, with separatist groups accusing the government of exploiting the province’s natural resources while leaving its people in poverty. 

Government officials deny the allegation and say they are developing the province through multibillion-dollar projects, including those backed by China.

Topics: Jaffar Express

One paramilitary soldier, 12 militants killed during attack in northwestern Pakistan 

One paramilitary soldier, 12 militants killed during attack in northwestern Pakistan 
Updated 13 March 2025
Follow

One paramilitary soldier, 12 militants killed during attack in northwestern Pakistan 

One paramilitary soldier, 12 militants killed during attack in northwestern Pakistan 
  • Militants carry out suicide blast at Frontier Corps headquarters in northwestern Tank district
  • No group has claimed responsibility for attack but suspicion likely to fall on Pakistani Taliban 
Updated 13 March 2025
REHMAT MEHSUD

PESHAWAR: One paramilitary soldier and 12 militants were killed during a gunbattle in Pakistan’s northwestern Tank district on Thursday after militants carried out a suicide blast at the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in the area, a police official with direct knowledge of the development said. 

The attack took place in district Tank’s Tehsil Jandola, located in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Talban Pakistan (TTP). 

“An officer on duty shot the suicide bomber driver of an explosive-laden vehicle which detonated the blast,” the Tank district police officer told Arab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. 

“One soldier was martyred, twelve terrorists were killed, two FC personnel injured while four civilians have sustained normal injuries during the clearance operation,” he added.

The police officer said the situation was “under control” following the FC’s clearance operation. 

The attack takes place amid rising militant attacks in Pakistan, especially in KP province bordering Afghanistan. KP has suffered a surge in militant attacks since November 2022 when a fragile truce between the state and the TTP collapsed. 

Pakistan says the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban in 2021 has emboldened the group as it is able to operate out of and launch attacks from safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan, whose government denies the charges.

The TTP has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistan’s security forces and civilians since 2007 in its bid to impose its strict version of Islamic law in the country.

Topics: Militancy

Karachi man arrested in child pornography case involving US minors — Pakistani investigators 

Karachi man arrested in child pornography case involving US minors — Pakistani investigators 
Updated 13 March 2025
Follow

Karachi man arrested in child pornography case involving US minors — Pakistani investigators 

Karachi man arrested in child pornography case involving US minors — Pakistani investigators 
  • Suspect Agha Sarwar Abbas was arrested on Mar. 11 on complaint of US Consulate in Karachi
  • Court in Karachi has granted Federal Investigation Agency five-day physical remand of Abbas
Updated 13 March 2025
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: A Pakistani man has been arrested in Karachi on charges of possession of child pornography and blackmailing minors in the United States following a complaint from the American consulate in the port city this week, a Pakistani official said on Thursday

The suspect, Agha Sarwar Abbas, was arrested on Mar. 11 following a complaint filed by a special agent of the US Department of State that alleged he was in possession of child pornography and was extorting US minors by using material obtained through various online platforms, the First Information Report (FIR) filed by police said. After a request from the US Consulate in Karachi, a case was registered under Sections 16, 22 and 24 of Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, which criminalizes offenses related to child pornography and online exploitation.

“Agha Sarwar Abbas has been arrested on a complaint from the US consulate for his alleged involvement in child pornography and blackmailing minors in the US,” Ameer Ali, an investigation officer with the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), told Arab News. “The court granted us a five-day physical remand for further questioning.”

The US Consulate said it could not comment on an ongoing legal case. 

On Wednesday, FIA informed Judicial Magistrate East Karachi that Abbas had admitted to creating a fake online identity and was pretending to be a US citizen named Brandon Liechier to gain the trust of minors. 

According to the FIR, the suspect has confessed during interrogation “to using personal data for the purposes of blackmail and threats based on recorded videos of US minor citizens.” 

The agency said it had raided Abbas’s residence in Karachi’s New Rizwia Society and seized multiple devices, including a laptop and an iPad, that allegedly contained child pornographic material. Investigators said they had also identified several online platforms, including Whereby.com, Google Meet, Snapchat, and 411.com, that the suspect was using to establish contact with victims. Through these platforms, he engaged in video calls and text chats, allegedly forcing minors to share personal and objectionable content.

According to the police report, the investigation had so far revealed that Abbas used personal data, including home addresses, to threaten victims with the release of “compromising material” unless they complied with his demands. Abbas also allegedly accessed adult websites to facilitate his activities, with a digital forensic analysis confirming the presence of child pornographic content and extortion messages on his seized devices.

On Wednesday, the FIA sought a 14-day police remand for Abbas from a local magistrate who only granted five days, until Mar. 18. 

Child pornography is illegal in Pakistan. Suspects convicted in child pornography cases can be subject to up to 20 years in prison and large fines. 

Topics: child pornography minors

Latest updates

Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day
Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day
Turkish top officials make sudden trip to Damascus after Syria’s deal with Kurdish-led group
Turkish top officials make sudden trip to Damascus after Syria’s deal with Kurdish-led group
UNRWA collapse would doom generation of Palestinian children: agency chief
UNRWA collapse would doom generation of Palestinian children: agency chief
Crown prince receives Yazeed Al-Rajhi after winning Saudi Dakar Rally
Crown prince receives Yazeed Al-Rajhi after winning Saudi Dakar Rally
More shots fired at Oregon Tesla dealership in ongoing vandalism since Musk began advising Trump
More shots fired at Oregon Tesla dealership in ongoing vandalism since Musk began advising Trump

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.