��������

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “visionary” global security initiative and pledged to deepen cultural, educational and diplomatic ties with Beijing.

The president said this while addressing the 2025 Golden Panda International Cultural Forum awards ceremony, which saw the awards given in film, television drama, animation and documentary categories.

Zardari arrived in Chengdu on Friday on a ten-day China visit, which comes on the heels of an official trip to China by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week, during which Islamabad signed investment agreements and joint ventures worth $8.5 billion with Beijing.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Pakistan president said the forum reminded them how cultures unite people and how art and television can connect different civilizations.

“We share China’s vision for uniting civilizations. Education and people-to-people ties have deepened the brotherhood between Pakistan and China,” he said.

“The world today is undergoing radical changes. In the times of dramatic changes, China, under President Xi, has shown us the path of a win-win solution. I wish to commend the President for his visionary Global Security Initiative.”

Presented at the Boao Forum in April 2022, President Xi’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) aims to uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the building of national security on the basis of “insecurity in other countries.”

“This initiative reflects a deep commitment to peace, stability, and cooperation in an increasingly complex world,” Zardari said. “We are ready to work with China, with all other nations, to promote understanding and culture and tolerance.”

Pakistan views China as an important strategic ally and investment partner, which has funneled billions of dollars into the country under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) energy and infrastructure project for over a decade.

Beijing is Pakistan’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade topping $25 billion in recent years, while Chinese firms have also invested heavily in Pakistan’s power, transport, infrastructure and telecom projects.

During his ten-day visit, President Zardari will be visiting Chengdu and Shanghai cities, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region till Sept. 21 to meet Chinese leaders, according to the Pakistani foreign office.

“The discussions will encompass Pakistan-China bilateral relations, with a particular focus on economic and trade cooperation, CPEC and future connectivity initiatives,” it said this week.

ISLAMABAD: Twelve Pakistani soldiers and 35 militants were killed in clashes this week near the country’s border with Afghanistan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Saturday.

Pakistani security forces raided a hideout of the Pakistani Taliban in KP’s Bajaur district in which 22 militants were killed in an exchange of fire, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.

Another 13 militants were killed in an encounter in the South Waziristan district. The military said the deceased militants belonged to the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.

“However, during intense fire exchange, twelve brave sons of soil, having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat (martyrdom),” the ISPR said in a statement.

The death toll underscores the struggles Pakistan faces as it tries to contain surging militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and the state broke down in November 2022.

The Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.

“Intelligence reports have unequivocally confirmed physical involvement of Afghan nationals in these heinous acts,” the ISPR said. “Besides, use of Afghan soil against Pakistan by Fitna al Khawarij [Pakistani Taliban] terrorists continues to remain a grave point of concern. Pakistan expects the Interim Afghan Government to uphold its responsibilities and deny use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan.”

There was no immediate comment from Kabul in response to the Pakistan military’s statement.

In recent months, Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi both deny the allegation.