Economy

News channels broadcast a live address by Imran Khan in Islamabad on Mar. 31: Khan has drummed home the idea that he is the victim of a devious foreign plot to suppress Pakistani sovereignty.
Opinion

People are the losers in Pakistan's political battles

Imran Khan's power grab has polarized society and left its economy in shambles

8 April 2022
A Pakistani official says the Xi Jinping administration is waiting to see how Pakistan's political crisis plays out. (Source photos by Getty Images and AP)
Belt and Road

China takes wait-and-see stance on Pakistan's political turmoil

Beijing thought to prefer opposition groups to reset direction of Belt and Road

16 March 2022
Indian security forces in Kashmir frequently stop motorists and frisk them, fearing they could be militants planning an attack.
Business trends

Kashmir startups navigate barbed-wire checkpoints, internet shutdowns

Entrepreneurs fill vacuum left by bigger players in violence-plagued Himalayan region

13 March 2022
A no-confidence vote looms for Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Politics

Pakistan PM Khan faces ouster amid fears of failing economy

Opposition closes in on government, threatening IMF deal

8 March 2022
Indian and Pakistani flags are lowered during a highly charged daily retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan when border gates are firmly shut. 
Afghanistan turmoil

Afghans starve for wheat stuck in India-Pakistan bureaucracy

Red tape ties up 50,000 tons of goodwill assistance for hungry until spring

13 February 2022
China Machinery Engineering Corp. and Chinese bank loans are helping Pakistan expand an open-pit coal mining site in Tharparkar. Here, dump trucks work the mine.
Climate Change

Pakistan to burn more domestic coal despite climate pledge

Islamabad expands use of lignite to ease burden of expensive imported fuel

24 January 2022
Empty trailers meant to house workers at a gold and copper exploration site in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes has put Pakistan in a corner.
Economy

Pakistan struggles to settle delayed mining license dispute

Islamabad seeks to avoid billions in penalty and interest, but local opposition grows

14 January 2022
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan needs to make a difficult decision over a fiscal bill submitted in the National Assembly.
Economy

Pakistan considers higher taxes to meet IMF demands

Parliament to decide on indirect duties, as central bank role also under scrutiny

30 December 2021
A monthlong protest has engulfed in Gwadar, the flagship Belt and Road Initiative port project in Pakistan, clouding prospects for more Chinese investment. (Source photo by Reuters and AP)
Belt and Road

Belt and Road sit-in at Pakistan port shows no sign of ending

Monthlong protest engulfs Gwadar, casting doubt on long-term investments

16 December 2021
A model of the Beidou satellite network, pictured in Beijing in September 2020: China's navigation system, an alternative to GPS, provides both civilian and military capabilities to Pakistan.
Opinion

Pakistan's cautionary tale of digital dependence on China

Beijing is successfully exploiting the need for connectivity in developing countries

3 December 2021
Millions of Afghans are facing food insecurity or worse as winter approaches. (Photo by Kanika Gupta)
Afghanistan turmoil

Afghanistan food crisis prods India, Pakistan to cooperate on aid

Archrivals close to arranging emergency transport of 50,000 tons of Indian wheat

2 December 2021
Stream article image
Asia Insight

China-Pakistan Belt and Road Initiative hits buffers

Disagreements, terrorism and COVID-19 stymie CPEC projects

30 November 2021
Heavily loaded trucks waiting last month to cross into Afghanistan from Pakistan at Friendship Gate near the Pakistani town of Chaman. 
Afghanistan turmoil

Afghan food prices soar as imports from Pakistan squeezed

Traders unable to settle payments after U.S. cuts off Taliban dollar access

8 October 2021
Prime Minister Imran Khan called China's planned $3.5 billion development of Karachi port a "game-changer." (Source photos by Getty Images and Reuters)
Belt and Road

Pakistan and China unveil ambitious plan to develop Karachi coast

Problematic Gwadar possibly out of favor, but experts say new project hard to implement

5 October 2021
China systematically underreports its debt to the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System by lending money through special purpose vehicles, a study reveals. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Belt and Road

$385bn of China's Belt and Road lending kept undisclosed: report

Beijing's loans to Pakistan cost 3.76% interest, while Western peers offer 1.1%

29 September 2021
Pakistan's government, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, left, has replaced its head of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, in a move seen as being orchestrated by China, led by President Xi Jinping. (Source photos by Reuters) 
Belt and Road

Pakistan replaces its Belt and Road chief with Beijing favorite

Removal of retired army general from top position stirs debate among businesses

8 August 2021
An ambulance arrives at a hospital in Dasu after a bus with Chinese nationals on board plunged into a ravine in Upper Kohistan, Pakistan, on July 14 following a blast. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/AP)
Belt and Road

China pressures Pakistan after losing 9 engineers in bus attack

Beijing postpones Belt and Road meeting and halts work on $4bn dam

21 July 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, talks to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in June 2019 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
International relations

Russia warms to Pakistan after three decades of cold ties

Moscow seeks new energy markets and to reclaim turf in geostrategic backyard

20 July 2021
An Afghan National Army soldier walks through a marijuana field. Afghanistan's emerging security vacuum is catnip to drug traffickers, who thrive amid lawlessness and economic devastation.
Politics

Pakistan fears Afghan chaos will exacerbate narcotics problem

Senior official says Beijing is helping Islamabad's anti-narcotics efforts

10 July 2021
Pakistan is pouring increased amounts of money into servicing loans, which bodes ill for domestic spending on health care, infrastructure and other areas.
Economy

Interest payments consume one-third of Pakistan's budget

Over-reliance on loans bodes ill for fiscal sustainability and domestic needs

24 June 2021
Soldiers and volunteers work at the site of a train collision in Ghotki district in southern Pakistan on June 7. 
8 June 2021
Gwadar Port, the centerpiece of the Pakistan component of the Belt and Road Initiative, suffers from infrastructure gaps. (Source photos by AP)
Belt and Road

Pakistan takes desperate measures to revive Belt and Road's port

Struggling Gwadar effectively chosen as regional subcapital and tourist destination

13 April 2021
A worker at a cotton processing facility in Gujarat, India: Indian cotton exports to Pakistan are set to resume as early as June.
Trade

Pakistan to resume India trade in June after 19-month freeze

Planned sugar and cotton imports signal growing thaw in ties

1 April 2021
 A woman shops for grocery items at a store in Peshawar, Pakistan. The country will have its second finance minister in the two and a half years of Prime Minister Imran Khan's tenure. 
Economy

Pakistan PM Khan replaces finance minister in cabinet shake-up

Industries and Production Minister Hammad Azhar tasked with fresh 'pro-poor policies'

30 March 2021
Plastic canisters filled with petrol from Iran at a roadside station on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan: Iranian oil has become widely available across the whole country.
Opinion

The hidden costs of Pakistan's crackdown on Iranian oil smuggling

Illicit trade highlights failure of China's economic corridor to generate employment

26 March 2021