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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, has arrived in China to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Monday, amid prevailing regional tensions.

The meeting comes amid simmering regional tensions, particularly between India and Pakistan, following New Delhi’s refusal to sign a recent SCO joint statement over its omission of a deadly April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The SCO, a trans-regional bloc comprising China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Central Asian states, is expected to deliberate on pressing regional and global security, connectivity, and economic issues at the CFM meeting in Tianjin on July 15-16.

Upon arrival in Beijing, Dar was received by Ambassador Yu Hong, a member of the Chinese’s foreign ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Khalil-ur-Rehman Hashmi, along with other Chinese foreign ministry officials.

“DPM/FM will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin tomorrow, call on the President of China along with other SCO Foreign Ministers, and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from SCO member states,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.

The CFM is the third highest forum in the SCO format that focuses on the issues of international relations as well as foreign and security policies of China-backed SCO.

Last month, Beijing’s bid for enhanced regional leadership suffered a setback when India rejected signing a joint statement put before defense ministers of the SCO, seen by some Western analysts as a regional grouping by China and Russia to counter United States influence in Asia, with New Delhi saying it was “pro-Pakistan” in not mentioning April’s attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the gunmen behind the April 22 killing of 26 people. Islamabad denies the charge. In May, India and Pakistan exchanged fighter jet, missile, drone and artillery strikes for four days over the Kashmir attack, killing around 70 people on both sides before agreeing to US-brokered ceasefire.

Separately, India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing that the two countries must resolve friction along their border, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalize their relationship, Reuters reported on Monday.

Jaishankar arrived in Beijing on his first trip to China since 2020, when a deadly border clash between their troops led to a four-year military standoff and damaged ties until a thaw began in October, when they agreed to step back.

“It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying.

Jaishankar met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng earlier in the day, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. Han told Jaishankar that India and China should steadily advance practical cooperation and respect each other’s concerns.

KARACHI: The Pakistani government is planning to facilitate overseas Pakistanis, particularly those in Gulf countries, by providing a technological solution that would enable them to send remittances through a domestic payment scheme, PayPak, the 1Link payment gateway system said on Monday, citing the Prime Minister Youth Programme (PMYP) chief said on Monday.

PMYP Chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan said this in a recent meeting with stakeholders, including 1Link CEO Najeeb Agrawalla and Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA) Chairman Ibrahim Amin, in the country’s commercial capital of Karachi.

Pakistan received over $38.3 billion in remittances from different countries in the financial year ending in June, with Pakistanis residing in Gulf countries contributing a major share to this amount.

Khan said the government was working extensively to serve Pakistanis in the country and overseas by addressing their core issues through innovative, technological and affordable means.

“The government is keen to explore strategic collaboration on empowering overseas Pakistani youth through digital remittance services and expanding PayPak’s reach under the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme,” he was quoted as saying by 1Link.

Khan said Pakistanis living abroad were playing commendable role in contributing to the economy and the PM Digital Youth Hub was exploring various options to honor their services with dedicated facilities and offerings.

Launched in 2016 by 1Link, PayPak is Pakistan’s first and the only domestic payment scheme (DPS), making Pakistan the 28th country in the world to have its own domestic payment system. It aims to spur financial inclusion and digitization across the country.

“We aim to take initiatives to facilitate secure and structured remittance flows from non-resident Pakistani workers, especially those based in ��������, UAE and other Gulf countries, while also promoting the use of PayPak for Hajj, Umrah, and other cross-border transactions including 1Bill service for non-resident Pakistanis,” 1Link CEO Agrawalla said.

As a major payment service provider, he said, 1Link proposed extending its technological expertise and platform capabilities to support the development and implementation of both initiatives.

PAFLA Chairman Amin said there were over 4 million Pakistanis residing in Gulf countries who had been contributing to the economy through their hard-earned income, adding that many of them lacked access to reliable, user-friendly technological payment solutions.

“PAFLA, in collaboration with Pakistani diplomatic missions, Pakistan’s banks, and different agencies, will do its best efforts to approach freelancers, blue- and white-collar Pakistani workers through outreach and engagement efforts across Gulf countries,” he said.