Economy

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
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan recently signed bilateral agreements with Uzbekistan intended to boost activity in the virtually idle port of Gwadar. 
Belt and Road

Pakistan promotes Belt and Road port for Central Asian trade

Move expected to increase volume of goods moving through Gwadar

18 March 2021
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, seen here at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2020, survived the confidence vote on Saturday, to ensure the continuance of his government.
Politics

Pakistan's Khan wins vote of confidence to save prime minister post

With opposition abstaining, political instability to impact Belt and Road projects

6 March 2021
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will seek a confidence vote in parliament after his finance minister lost his senate seat.
Politics

Pakistan's deal with IMF clouded as Khan faces confidence vote

Ruling coalition setback raises uncertainty, with China seen edging closer

5 March 2021
FATF is keeping Pakistan on its grey list until further progress is made in eliminating terrorism funding. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
International relations

Terror-financing grey listing costs Pakistan billions annually

FAFT to keep South Asian economy's status despite 'significant progress'

3 March 2021
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Prime Minister Imran Khan. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are finding more areas of common interest, like Arabian Sea security.
International relations

Pakistan efforts to mend fences with Saudi-led bloc bear fruit

Islamabad also maintains strong ties with counter-alliance of Turkey and Iran

22 February 2021
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Beijing in April 2019. Experts say Beijing is increasingly unwilling to pour money into the Belt and Road projects in Pakistan without exercising greater control. (Source photos by Getty Images) 
Belt and Road

China moves for more control over Belt and Road in Pakistan

Demand for joint parliamentary oversight indicates Beijing's frustration on projects

11 February 2021
China is set to lay the final leg of a cross-border fiber optic cable in Pakistan, linking to a cable in the Arabian Sea. (Source photo by Getty Images)
Belt and Road

China builds Digital Silk Road in Pakistan to Africa and Europe

PEACE cable will reduce Pakistani internet traffic going through India

29 January 2021
A man reads a newspaper at a vegetable market in Islamabad: most people believe that journalists are performing a valuable public service.
Opinion

Controls tighten on Pakistan's media

Government using threats and advertising cuts to curb criticism

14 January 2021
Pakistan's rickety old rail network, much of it dating from British colonial times, is one of the stumbling blocks to better rail connections between West and East Asia. 
Belt and Road

Turkey, Iran, Pakistan rail link to China's Belt and Road

Oriental express service for the 21st century connecting West Asia to China

29 December 2020
The provincial government of Balochistan plans to fence off 24 sq. km of the port city of Gwadar.
Belt and Road

Pakistan to fence off Gwadar to shield China's Belt and Road port

Separating part of city shows Beijing's impatience in face of insurgency

14 December 2020
The Pakistan Army's construction and engineering unit is to be a big beneficiary of a controversial bill expected to pass in December, analysts say.
Belt and Road

Pakistan Army set to gain sweeping Belt and Road authority

Bill grants military-linked body carte blanche over $50bn CPEC projects

30 November 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced a development package for southern Balochistan Province, hoping to create 120,000 jobs.
Belt and Road

Pakistan to pacify Belt and Road opposition with more projects

Funding an obstacle for cash-strapped Islamabad amid halt in IMF aid

16 November 2020
A laborer digs in preparation for the replacement of concrete sleepers along a railway track in Karachi in Jan. 2018.
Belt and Road

Pakistan Belt and Road railway hits snag as China nixes low rate

Islamabad turns to G-20 for debt relief after Beijing reluctant to negotiate

27 October 2020
Pakistan, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, left, and India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, have opened a new front in their long rivalry: basmati rice. (Source photos by Reuters) 
International relations

Basmati rice row marks latest front in India-Pakistan rivalry

Islamabad readies objection to New Delhi's geographical indication push in EU

21 October 2020
A Pakistani soldier guards a container ship set to sail after the inauguration of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor port in Gwadar in November 2016.
Belt and Road

Pakistani militants opposing Belt and Road kill 14 security men

Attack on oil workers part of spreading separatist threats to China-led projects

16 October 2020
An internet user looks at a Facebook page at a cafe in Hanoi: digital protectionism is on the rise.
Opinion

Asian 'splinternet' threatens cross-border data collaboration

Why digital protectionism damages Asia's economic growth, innovation and security

7 October 2020
Pakistani troops arrive to repel an attack on an air force base in Peshawar in late 2015.
Belt and Road

Reunified Pakistani Taliban threatens China's Belt and Road

Factions regroup under an al-Qaeda umbrella with foothold near Xinjiang

8 September 2020
The border post in Torkham, Pakistan, in December 2019. The Khyber Pass Economic Corridor project includes construction of a 48km four-lane expressway between Peshawar and the Torkham border crossing. 
Belt and Road

China pushes Pakistan to open trade routes with Afghanistan

Beijing wants to extend Belt and Road by readying export paths to India

24 August 2020
A truck hauls coal out of Pakistan's Tharparkar region, the world's seventh largest coal deposit. 
International relations

China pivots to old ally Pakistan for coal after Australia spat

Thar field designed for domestic power but might increase Beijing's options

19 August 2020
A medical personnel uses a bag-mask valve at an isolation facility in Metro Manila on May 1: few problems are insurmountable when collaborative science rise to the occasion.
Opinion

Reimagining Asia's response to COVID-19

Purpose-driven leadership, digital transformation and collective effort are critical

19 August 2020
Prime Minister Imran Khan meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in September 2019, a time when Saudi Arabia was seen as something of a white knight in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Pakistan's Press Information Department)
International relations

Saudi Arabia pulls support for Pakistan as Kashmir tiff widens

As Riyadh takes India's side, China comes through with $1bn for Islamabad

10 August 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has two agreements in as many months from Beijing to fund hydropower projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/EPA/Jiji)
Belt and Road

Pakistan benefits from China-India clash with hydropower deal

Himalaya tensions also give Islamabad opportunity to make a case for debt relief

6 July 2020
Police survey a damaged car at the site of an attack at the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on June 29.
Belt and Road

Gunmen opposing 'Belt and Road' attack Pakistan bourse; 8 dead

Militant group vows to continue fight against Chinese presence in Balochistan

29 June 2020
The pandemic-induced slowdown may offer the Asia-Pacific region a prime opportunity not only to catch up on environmental targets, but also to lay the groundwork for a greener future. © Illustration by Hiroko Oshima
Asia Insight

Asia risks missing 'green' economic reset after coronavirus

Except in South Korea, experts see absence of environmental resolve in region

23 June 2020