Politics

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
Paramilitary soldiers stand guard at the site of an attack at the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on June 29.
Belt and Road

Pakistani separatist groups unite to target China's Belt and Road

Experts say Islamabad and Beijing will be forced to increase project security

1 August 2020
A proposed $400 billion economic partnership between China and Iran has some experts questioning the value of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. (Source photo by Reuters) 
Belt and Road

China-Iran deal overshadows Pakistan Belt and Road project

Beijing's plan to invest in Tehran's Hormuz port threatens Islamabad's value

21 July 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
An armed conflict between China and India, Kashmiris have come to believe, might be a good thing. (Photo by Bhat Burhan)
International relations

Kashmiris see ray of hope in India-China standoff in Himalayas

Locals expect help but global community remains silent about Delhi's crackdown

2 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
Major China-backed infrastructure projects in Pakistan are being slowed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Belt and Road

Pakistan slashes budget for Belt and Road Initiative projects

Completion date for Karachi-Peshawar rail link even more uncertain

19 June 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a televised address in March in which he said: "Ninety percent of cases of coronavirus are normal flu, and clear up without any treatment."
Coronavirus

Conspiracy theories help coronavirus take root in Pakistan

Religious fervor and distrust of government combine with deadly results

13 June 2020
A boy receives polio vaccine drops at a Karachi train station in 2016.
Politics

Coronavirus threatens to upend Pakistan's long war against polio

39 nations at risk as public funds are diverted to fight COVID-19

3 June 2020
A swarm of desert locusts flies over a ranch near the town on Nanyuki in Laikipia county, Kenya, Feb. 21.
Natural disasters

India and Pakistan brace for worst locust attack in 27 years

Amid COVID-19, Modi vows to 'salvage our crops' as drones and helicopters readied

1 June 2020
Pakistan has secured funding from China for a major hydropower joint venture in Kashmir, but the loan terms have not been revealed.  
Belt and Road

China ignores India over dam project in Pakistani Kashmir

Debt-laden Islamabad gets Beijing funds for joint venture opposed by Delhi

24 May 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, November 2, 2018. 
Belt and Road

Pakistan bans political party critical of China's Belt and Road

Government claims 'reasonable grounds' for terror link as rights groups cry foul

21 May 2020
Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji
Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

20 May 2020
Pakistan has plans to create a smart city in Gwadar Port, a major part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Belt and Road

Pakistan request opens door for Belt and Road project debt relief

COVID-19 economic hit gives China little choice but to help cash-strapped allies

11 May 2020
A doctor tests a patient for the coronavirus in Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, at the outset of India's nationwide lockdown, which has failed to conquer the novel coronavirus.
Coronavirus

India and Pakistan's 'red zones' keep COVID-19 trajectory on rise

New Delhi modifies strategy as stringent lockdown fails to flatten curve

7 May 2020
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, greets Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Beijing, in November 2018. Khan must balance ties with Beijing and acting to protect public health in Pakistan.
Belt and Road

Pakistan moves to save face as coronavirus hits Belt and Road

Government's order for work to resume a bid to foster China ties, analysts say

22 April 2020
Volunteers stand with hand sanitizer and masks, to offer to people, as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, from a stall setup by an NGO for awareness, at the premises of the St John Cathedral in Peshawar, Pakistan on March 15. 
Coronavirus

Pakistan seeks China's help as it shows solidarity on coronavirus

Some experts skeptical on Beijing's ability to help out Belt and Road partners

23 March 2020
There are plans to make the port city of Gwadar, near the Gulf of Oman, into a smart metropolis of 2 million, but the city's 85,000 current residents already struggle with poor electricity and water supplies.
Belt and Road

Pakistan's Belt and Road port has Singapore-size goal

Gwadar's development plan, with a lack of funds and resources, stirs skepticism

2 March 2020
G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Chantilly, France, July 17, 2019.
Your Week in Asia

G-20 finance ministers, Nissan shareholders and a China-ASEAN meeting

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest political and business events

17 February 2020
A doctor walks out of an isolation ward at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center in Karachi that was set up as a preventative measure following the coronavirus outbreak.
Coronavirus

Stuck in Wuhan: Pakistani students' cry for help falls on deaf ears

Islamabad fears nation's medical facilities cannot handle coronavirus patients

13 February 2020
Foreign students in Japan are allowed to work in unskilled-labor positions, such as convenience store work, for up to 28 hours per week. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Japan immigration

Japan intensifies crackdown on student visa overstayers

Number of countries subject to stricter checks to increase tenfold

11 February 2020
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Jan. 30 that Phnom Penh's decision not to evacuate students from Wuhan is a form of "soft diplomacy."
Coronavirus

Hun Sen offers Wuhan visit, while Pakistan resumes China flights

Beijing's clout generates measured responses to the virus crisis with some allies

4 February 2020
Kalika chief Nicholas Pandey expects Nepal to prosper from economic stability and Chinese investment. 
Interview

Nepal's Kalika Group riding high on Chinese investment

China-India rail link among major BRI infrastructure projects

2 February 2020
People walk by a banner aimed at raising awareness of the coronavirus in Islamabad. Pakistan, as of Saturday, does not have a confirmed case of the infection. 
Coronavirus

Coronavirus fears freeze Belt and Road projects in Pakistan

Opposition politicians slam government for not evacuating citizens from Wuhan

1 February 2020