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Pakistan reiterates commitment to provide foolproof security to Chinese nationals

Pakistan reiterates commitment to provide foolproof security to Chinese nationals
Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb meets China’s Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min in Washington on October 26, 2024. (Photo courtesy: X/@Financegovpk)
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Updated 2 min 9 sec ago
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Pakistan reiterates commitment to provide foolproof security to Chinese nationals

Pakistan reiterates commitment to provide foolproof security to Chinese nationals
  • Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb meets China’s Vice Minister for Finance Liao Min in Washington
  • Separatist and religiously motivated militants in Pakistan have increasingly targeted Chinese interests in country
Updated 2 min 9 sec ago
Aamir Saeed
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb this week reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to provide foolproof security to Chinese nationals, the Finance Division said, amid a surge in attacks on Chinese citizens in the South Asian country. 
Pakistani separatist and religiously motivated militants have mounted attacks on Chinese projects in the country in recent years. A suicide blast claimed by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) killed two Chinese nationals in Karachi this month, while five Chinese workers were killed in a suicide bombing in March in northwest Pakistan.
The attacks have forced Beijing, a major ally and investor in Pakistan, to call on Islamabad to ensure security for its citizens. Pakistan has sought to ease Chinese fears, vowing to provide fool-proof security to Chinese nationals working in the country.
On Saturday, Aurangzeb met China’s Vice Minister of Finance, Liao Min, during the 2024 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington where both sides spoke on a range of issues, including economic cooperation and security for Chinese nationals. 
“Committed to providing foolproof security to Chinese workers,” the Finance Division said about Aurangzeb’s commitments to the Chinese official. “Shared that the majority of Chinese companies are interested in expanding their investments and increasing employment opportunities in Pakistan.”
The two officials also touched upon economic cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing, with the statement saying Pakistan aims to launch an inaugural Panda bond in the Chinese market to “diversify” its financing base.
A Panda bond issuance would be Pakistan’s first foray into China’s capital markets. 
Aurangzeb thanked the Chinese official for Beijing’s help in enabling Pakistan to secure a $7 billion bailout program this year, the Finance Division said. 
“Both sides emphasized the need for online payment settlements and integration of the two countries’ payment systems,” the statement added. 
Chinese economic assistance has been crucial for Pakistan in recent years, with Beijing pledging over $65 billion in investment in road, infrastructure and development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. 
CPEC is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive China-led infrastructure project that aims to stretch around the globe.

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

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Palestinian actor brings award-winning tale of occupation and resistance to Pakistan

Palestinian actor brings award-winning tale of occupation and resistance to Pakistan
Updated 13 sec ago
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Palestinian actor brings award-winning tale of occupation and resistance to Pakistan

Palestinian actor brings award-winning tale of occupation and resistance to Pakistan
  • Ahmed Tobasi, who grew up at Jenin refugee camp in West Bank, witnessed first-hand the repercussions of Israeli occupation of Palestine
  • The actor calls theater a more ‘powerful’ weapon than a gun and has performed a play depicting his life in more than a dozen countries
Updated 13 sec ago
BURAQ SHABBIR

KARACHI: Ahmed Tobasi, a Palestinian theater actor who opened his eyes for the first time at the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, was just 17 years old when he was taken as a political prisoner by Israeli forces for four years.
Growing up at the camp in the northern West Bank, Tobasi witnessed first-hand the repercussions of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and chose to make the world aware of these atrocities through theater.
This Friday, the 40-year-old, who still lives in Jenin and calls theater a more “powerful” weapon than a gun, presented a play at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi, depicting his life at the camp and the horrors of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
“The idea is to take the Palestinian narrative [to the world] with a real actor from Palestine to make people see that Palestinians [are] also artists. We do theater and we speak the same language that this world is speaking,” Tobasi told Arab News after his performance.
“It is very important to show the human beings of Palestine [to the world].”

Ahmed Tobasi, a Palestinian theater actor, performs a play titled ‘And Here I am’ during the World Culture Festival at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi on October 25, 2024. (AN Photo)

Titled as ‘And Here I am,’ Tobasi performed his play during the World Culture Festival in Karachi, which is running from Sept. 26 till Oct. 30 and featuring music, theater, dance and fine arts from various countries of the world.
The 40-year-old says it has been seven years since his play came to life and he has presented it in more than a dozen countries, including Palestine, UK, Norway, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In Pakistan, the most recent addition to the list, Tobasi performed the play in Arabic before a packed audience in Karachi, with subtitles in English playing in the background.

Ahmed Tobasi, a Palestinian theater actor, performs a play titled ‘And Here I am’ during the World Culture Festival at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi on October 25, 2024. (AN Photo)

“It was an honor to be a part of the World Culture Festival [in] Karachi,” he said. “We believe there is a very unique, special relation between Pakistan and Palestine.”
Pakistan has always stood by Palestine and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
Tobasi started performing at the age of 21 after he joined The Freedom Theatre, a theater and cultural center in the Jenin refugee camp, following his release from Israeli custody. He later went to Norway where he trained and worked with Nordic Black Theatre in Oslo.
He returned to Jenin a few years later following the assassination of Juliano Mer-Khamis, his drama coach at The Freedom Theatre, in 2013. He is currently the artistic director at the theater.

Ahmed Tobasi, a Palestinian theater actor, received a standing ovation from the audience for his play titled ‘And Here I am’ during the World Culture Festival at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi on October 25, 2024. (AN Photo)

“I hope to tell all people, all young people that theater and culture is a very powerful weapon,” he told Arab News. “If we want to express ourselves and talk and argue, art is the way.”
Tobasi’s life story ‘And Here I am,’ penned by award-winning Iraqi playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak, has also won the award for best production at the Sharm El-Sheikh International Theatre Festival in 2019. The production combines fact and fantasy, and tragedy and comedy.
The drama captures 35 years of Tobasi’s life, according to its British director, Zoe Lafferty.
“Tobasi presents things which are very difficult, such as the murder of his friends [and] his teacher Juliano, but he also brings humor [and] he dances,” Lafferty told Arab News.
“So, it also brings the lighter and joyful moments.”
Lafferty has been working with Tobasi and his theater production team outside of Palestine for the last 15 years as the “Israelis won’t let her enter” the Palestinian territory. She directed all shows for Tobasi’s play that have been performed in various parts of the world.

Ahmed Tobasi (2R), a Palestinian theater actor, speaks after his performance during the World Culture Festival at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi on October 25, 2024. (AN Photo)

“We have had some really good success in other countries but also, we have been canceled in many countries,” she said, pointing to “big challenges” in terms of censorship.
“We were meant to go to Germany next week and the production was canceled. One show got canceled in France but the tour continued. We got canceled in Singapore.”
For Tobasi, it’s “extremely important” to tell personal stories that bring people closer. He says he doesn’t want anyone to agree or disagree with what he presents, and all he hopes to achieve is for the world to see that the Palestinians do not have a lot of choices because of what is being done to them.
“When they see a real story in front of their faces, all their thinking [has] been, in a way, questioned and changed,” the 40-year-old told Arab News.
“People get more close, more sensitive to the Palestinians’ story [after watching the performance] because the West, America [and] Europe, has dehumanized us while covering our story and always showed us as terrorists, Muslims, Arabs [and] Palestinians.”

Topics: Pakistan Palestine palestinian actor Arts Council of Pakistan War on Gaza Ahmed Tobasi

Hussain says Pakistan have found ‘kryptonite to Bazball’ with England series win

Hussain says Pakistan have found ‘kryptonite to Bazball’ with England series win
Updated 27 min 12 sec ago
AFP
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Hussain says Pakistan have found ‘kryptonite to Bazball’ with England series win

Hussain says Pakistan have found ‘kryptonite to Bazball’ with England series win
  • England were beaten inside three days after losing seven wickets for merely 46 runs in second Test 
  • Hussain, former England captain, says England does not play spin well or bowl spin as well as Pakistan
Updated 27 min 12 sec ago
AFP

LONDON: Nasser Hussain said Pakistan had found the “kryptonite to Bazball” after wrapping up a 2-1 series win over England with an emphatic nine-wicket victory in Rawalpindi on Saturday.
England were beaten inside three days after suffering a dramatic collapse where they lost their last seven wickets for 46 runs.
All 20 England wickets fell to spinners for the second match in a row as Pakistan, thrashed by an innings and 47 runs in first Test, completed an impressive recovery.
Hussain, a former England captain, said Pakistan had “exposed England when the ball spins” and demonstrated that “when it spins and when it’s gripping, England don’t play spin as well or bowl spin as well as Pakistan.”
England, under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, have become known for their aggressive ‘Bazball’ style in Test cricket, particularly when batting, as they showed while compiling a mammoth 823-7 on a flat surface in the series opener in Multan.
But it was a very different story as spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, who did not feature in the first Test, took 39 of the 40 England wickets that fell in the next two matches.
“They (Pakistan) made a real, drastic change, new selectors, different pitches completely — as in they used the Multan pitch again, complete turner, came here (Rawalpindi), made it turn — and they found the kryptonite to Bazball,” said Hussain in his role as a Sky Sports pundit.
“When it spins and when it’s gripping, England don’t play spin as well or bowl spin as well as Pakistan.”
Several England batsmen struggled for runs in Pakistam, with Ollie Pope managing just 55 runs in five innings, skipper Ben Stokes 53 in four innings and opener Zak Crawley 139 in five visits to the crease.
Hussain added while the difference in pitch conditions offered some explanation for increasingly low scores, the “discrepancy with England is a concern.”
“It shouldn’t be so drastic that you play so well on flat pitches and you can hit through the line, and the moment it then grips you can’t play like that, so you’re then a little bit lost,” he said.
Michael Vaughan, another former England captain, said England needed to have “some serious conversations” about Pope’s position at number three.
“His returns suggest he does not have the mentality or technique to thrive against the very best bowlers,” wrote Vaughan in his column for Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
England, following a 4-1 series defeat in India earlier this year, have now lost six of their last seven Tests in Asia, with Hussain saying the focus on the Ashes, particularly on winning the 2025/26 campaign in Australia, was unhealthy.
“All you ever hear about is the Ashes, the Ashes away,” said Hussain. “We play so many series away before the Ashes, the conditions here are so different from Australia...It can’t all be about one series every four years away from home. You’re almost not taking Pakistan or India seriously, you’ve got to be across the board.”

Topics: Pakistan vs England Rawalpindi Test sajid khan

PM Sharif says India undermining disputed Kashmir status as Pakistan marks Black Day

PM Sharif says India undermining disputed Kashmir status as Pakistan marks Black Day
Updated 42 min 41 sec ago
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PM Sharif says India undermining disputed Kashmir status as Pakistan marks Black Day

PM Sharif says India undermining disputed Kashmir status as Pakistan marks Black Day
  • Indian troops first arrived in Kashmir on October 27, making Pakistan observe it as Black Day
  • Sharif says people of Kashmir want the right to self-determination despite years of hardship
Updated 42 min 41 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday accused India of taking aggressive measures in recent years to erode the disputed status of Kashmir, as Pakistan observes Black Day today to mark the 1947 arrival of Indian troops in the region.
Pakistan commemorates October 27 annually as Kashmir Black Day, a moment that it views as the beginning of India’s occupation of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir following the controversial decision of its ruler to accede to India.
The historic event has remained a source of longstanding conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, with both countries controlling parts of Kashmir while claiming it in full.
Pakistan uses the day to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people and underscore their struggle for self-determination. Events, including protests, rallies and seminars, are organized not only across Pakistan but also in its administered part of Kashmir to bring attention to the issue.
“On this day 77 years ago, Indian forces landed in Srinagar,” the prime minister said in a statement circulated by his office. “India has since stifled the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people to determine their own destiny. It has failed to fulfill its obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
“India has been taking successive steps to tighten its grip over IIOJK since 5 August 2019,” he continued, abbreviating Pakistan’s official way to refer to the region as “Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir” while mentioning the day New Delhi revoked the region’s special constitutional status offering it limited autonomy. “India’s nefarious designs are aimed at undermining the disputed status of IIOJK and denying the Kashmiri people their democratic right to decide their own future.”
The Indian decision to change the region’s constitutional status followed Pakistan’s move to downgrade its diplomatic relations with its arch-rival.
Officials in Islamabad also expressed concern that New Delhi was trying to alter the demographics of the only Muslim-majority region under its control by allowing Hindus from other cities to purchase land in Kashmir.
More recently, India has held elections in the region to demonstrate that the situation is gradually normalizing after the uproar following its August 2019 decision, which led to a communication blackout in Indian-administered Kashmir and the arrests of hundreds of political leaders and workers who opposed the move.
The Pakistani prime minister said the people of Kashmir under Indian rule had “suffered countless hardships during the last 75 years,” though their resolve to exercise their right to self-determination was as firm as it was in 1947.
“Today, the Kashmiri people are enduring the most egregious and painful curbs on their daily lives and livelihoods,” he continued. “The number of political prisoners remains in the thousands. The Indian occupation forces act with impunity under draconian counterterrorism laws. However, these oppressive measures cannot dampen the Kashmiri people’s yearning for self-determination.”
He reiterated that Pakistan had consistently maintained that peace and stability in South Asia was contingent on peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and aspirations of Kashmiris.
“India must realize that it cannot suppress the genuine aspirations of the Kashmiri people by its coercive tactics,” he added.

Topics: black day Pakistan India Kashmir Day KASHMIR ISSUE

Pakistan’s deputy PM calls for equitable global financial system at Commonwealth meeting

Pakistan’s deputy PM calls for equitable global financial system at Commonwealth meeting
Updated 26 October 2024
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Pakistan’s deputy PM calls for equitable global financial system at Commonwealth meeting

Pakistan’s deputy PM calls for equitable global financial system at Commonwealth meeting
  • Dar says Pakistan wants to spend on health, education but lacks access to global financial markets
  • He maintains the world should prioritize debt relief and restructuring along with climate financing
Updated 26 October 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar called for an equitable global financial architecture during the Executive Session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, state-owned media reported on Saturday, stressing the need to support developing countries in meeting their economic needs.
Dar, who also holds the foreign ministry portfolio, is leading Pakistan’s delegation at the Commonwealth gathering, which began on Monday, to present Islamabad’s stance on key global issues.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent nations, with roots tracing back to the British Empire. Today, any country can be part of it, with Gabon and Togo being the most recent members, joining in 2022.
“Addressing the gathering, he said the global community should prioritize debt relief and restructuring, sustainable investments in resilient infrastructure, enhanced access to climate financing and digital and financial inclusion in addition to strengthening multilateral cooperation,” Radio Pakistan reported.
“Ishaq Dar said Pakistan recognizes the pressing need for investments in health, education and infrastructure, yet it faces significant challenges due to the limited access to international financial markets and impacts of climate change,” it added.
Dar also highlighted Pakistan’s active participation in Commonwealth working groups on the digital economy and sustainable finance, saying it reflecting the country’s commitment to integrating innovative solutions into its economic strategy.
He also engaged with the heads of delegations from other Commonwealth member states on the sidelines of the conference.

Topics: Ishaq Dar Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Three paramilitary troops injured in explosion in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

Three paramilitary troops injured in explosion in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
Updated 26 October 2024
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Three paramilitary troops injured in explosion in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

Three paramilitary troops injured in explosion in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
  • Police confirm FC soldiers were moving in a convoy near Duki when an IED blast happened
  • Earlier this month, unknown militants also killed 20 coal miners in the area with heavy weapons
Updated 26 October 2024
SAADULLAH AKHTER

QUETTA: Three Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, confirmed a police official, saying the incident took place in an area located 15 kilometers from Duki in Loralai Division.
Earlier this month, unidentified militants killed at least 20 coal miners in the area, using heavy weapons, sparking protests from labor organizations and halting mining operations amid heightened fear.
The attack in Duki occurred slightly over a month after separatist militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) carried out a series of coordinated assaults in the province, killing more than 50 people, including highway commuters.
Hamayoun Khan, Station House Officer at the Duki police station, confirmed the paramilitary troops were targeted while traveling in a convoy through the mountainous area.
“Three soldiers of the paramilitary FC force were injured in the attack,” he told Arab News. “Some unknown individuals planted an IED in the steep Manday Tak area of the mountain.”
While no group has claimed responsibility for this attack, Baloch separatists have often targeted security forces in the region.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a low-level insurgency by separatist militants who accuse the government of exploiting the province’s mineral resources without benefiting local residents.
The government denies this and asserts it has launched several high-profile projects for the region’s development.

Topics: Pakistani paramilitary troops Balochistan

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