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KARACHI: Pakistan is considering financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the long-delayed Main Line‑1 (ML‑1) railway upgrade — part of the China‑Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — as an ADB fact-finding team inspected a section of the track on Saturday, according to an official statement.

ML‑1, a $6.7 billion upgrade of Pakistan’s 1,687-kilometer Karachi–Peshawar rail artery, is central to CPEC. The overhaul, involving track doubling, advanced signaling and higher-speed trains, is expected to boost cargo and passenger capacity while easing the transport of trade goods to and from the country’s southern ports.

“Experts from the Asian Development Bank inspected the Karachi to Rohri railway line today,” Pakistan Railways said in a statement. “The Bank’s Chief Transport Planner, Sangyoon Kim, conducted the 480-kilometer track inspection alongside the chief engineer (open lines) of Pakistan Railways.”

“ADB’s fact-finding specialists will prepare a report on the readiness of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, following which a final decision regarding the project’s financing will be made,” the statement added.

ML‑1 underpins Pakistan’s main rail connectivity, carrying a major bulk of the country’s cargo and passenger traffic. The project was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee in 2020 but has repeatedly stalled amid funding hitches.

Speaking to Arab News, Babar Ali Raza, spokesperson at the railways ministry, said ADB was currently only preparing the feasibility.

“The main financier is China,” he continued. “The team conducting the inspection is assessing its own feasibility to determine whether ADB can provide financing or not.”

“This would be ADB’s own financing,” he added, “however much they want to contribute.”

Pakistan and China have described CPEC as a “game-changer” for growth. The corridor comprises multibillion-dollar infrastructure initiatives covering roads, energy and rail.

The two countries are also striving for regional connectivity, with Pakistan actively pursuing economic diplomacy in the neighborhood and offering its southern ports to landlocked Central Asian countries for global trade.

QUETTA/PESHAWAR: An army officer was killed and three civilians, including a child, were injured in a magnetic improvised explosive device (IED) blast in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, police said, as security forces in the country’s northwest killed nine militants in a separate incident.

The explosion targeted a private vehicle in the western bypass area of Quetta, the capital of restive Balochistan province, where ethnic Baloch insurgents have been waging a low-level separatist insurgency for years.

“One man identified as Major Anwar Kakar was killed and three civilians, including a little girl, were injured in the attack,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sadar Shoukat Jadoon, adding the initial investigation revealed that Major Kakar was the primary target.

The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the blast, saying its “special tactical operation unit carried out a targeted attack on an army officer in Quetta.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and most resource-rich province, has long grappled with a simmering insurgency by separatist groups operating in the region.

Attacks targeting security forces, government officials and non-local workers have intensified in recent months, despite repeated crackdowns and security operations by the state.

Earlier in the day a joint operation by police and security forces was carried out in Hangu, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing nine militants after a two-hour firefight, according to a police official.

Three senior officials, including the district police chief and a military officer, were wounded in the gunbattle.

The raid, launched around 1 PM on the basis of actionable intelligence, was aimed at a suspected militant hideout.

Hangu has long experienced sectarian and militant unrest, including deadly suicide bombings targeting civilians and places of worship. Saturday’s raid was the latest in a series of operations targeting militant activity in the northwestern province.

Speaking to Arab News, Hangu police spokesperson Saqib Khan said reinforcements were quickly deployed to support frontline units and block escape routes.

“During the intense exchange of fire, DPO [District Police Officer] Khalid Khan, a police inspector Nabi Khan and a senior military official sustained injuries,” he said. “Fortunately, all three are out of danger and receiving proper medical care.”

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed praised the bravery of the officers involved, saying he had spoken to the injured DPO.

“He is in high spirits and recovering well,” the IGP said in a statement.

Following the operation, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur commended the security forces and especially the Hangu police leadership.

“DPO Khalid Khan and his team thwarted the nefarious designs of the terrorists with exceptional valor and determination,” he said in a statement, adding that “DPO Khalid Khan led from the front and confronted the terrorists head-on, displaying remarkable bravery.”

“We are proud of such fearless and courageous police officers and personnel,” Gandapur added, while directing authorities to ensure the best medical care for the injured.

He reaffirmed that the nation stands firmly behind its security forces in the fight against militant violence.