PM Imran Khan set to meet China’s Xi
BEIJING/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will arrive in Beijing on Tuesday on a two-day visit to China during which he would meet President Xi Jinping.
His third such trip since taking office last August comes days ahead of Xi’s planned high-profile visit to India to take part in the 2nd informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mamallapuram near Chennai next week.
Khan will also meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to discuss issues of regional and bilateral significance, Pakistan state-run APP news agency reported.
The visit takes place at a time when tensions have spiked between Pakistan and India after New Delhi ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Beijing, the all-weather ally of Islamabad, has backed Pakistan over the Kashmir issue, with its foreign minister Wang Yi saying, “No actions that would unilaterally change the status quo should be taken”.
Khan will also discuss expansion of projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework besides cooperation in agriculture, industrial and socioeconomic sectors, the report said.
Media reports said Khan would hold talks with the top Chinese leadership to revive the stalled $60 billion CPEC, the flagship project of President Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Khan is also expected to attend the China-Pakistan Business Forum on October 8.
QANDEEL BALOCH’S BROTHER ARRESTED
The fugitive brother of slain Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch has been arrested with the help of Interpol and handed over to police in Punjab province, a senior police official has said. Mohammad Arif , an accused the gruesome murder of Baloch, whose real name is Fouzia Azeem, was handed over to Muzaffarabad police station in Multan, senior police official Mahar Bashir Hiraj told the Dawn newspaper.
MUSHARRAF TO MAKE COMEBACK IN POLITICS
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf is planning to make a comeback in the national politics by reviving his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), a media report said.
The 76-year-old had been recuperating in Dubai after suffering from a rare disease, Geo News reported.
The APML chief was to address his supporters in Islamabad on Sunday via a video link on the occasion of the party’s foundation day.