Latest news with #KarachiPort
Arab News
22-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan PM says Hong Kong conglomerate key to introducing advanced tech at Karachi Port
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday applauded a Hong Kong-based conglomerate for playing an important role in modernizing Karachi Port by introducing advanced technologies like modern scanners for customs assessments, said an official statement. The statement was issued after a Hutchison Ports delegation, led by Chief Executive Officer Eric Ip, met Sharif, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry and Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema to discuss the company's operations in Pakistan. Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, has been operating two terminals in Pakistan, contributing over $804 million in government revenues and providing employment to 5,000 individuals. 'Modern technology is being introduced at ports in Pakistan, with Hutchison Ports playing an important role,' the PM Office quoted Sharif as saying. 'Hutchison Ports' services will prove valuable in establishing modern scanners for customs assessment at domestic ports.' Sharif said the investments made by Hutchison Ports in Pakistan for three decades were 'a reflection of confidence in Pakistani economic policies.' On the occasion, the CEO of Hutchison Ports said the company was taking steps to introduce modern technology at Karachi Port and expressed a desire to invest more in Pakistan in the future. In March, Hutchison Ports said it planned to invest $1 billion in Pakistan to improve its port infrastructure. Later the same month, Pakistan's maritime affairs minister and a Hutchison Ports official discussed the 'swift execution' of the proposed investment. Pakistan has been working to boost foreign trade while seeking international partnerships to expand maritime activities. On Jan. 22, South Korean shipping company HMM launched the India North Europe Express (INX) weekly shipping service in Pakistan, providing the country with direct access to Europe. Earlier, Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, in collaboration with Pakistan's National Logistics Corporation, launched a feeder service to transport shipping containers from Dubai to Karachi. Pakistani officials and DP World have also finalized terms for a freight corridor project from Karachi Port to the Pipri Marshalling Yard in southern Pakistan.
Express Tribune
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
India's false thunder fizzles in face of reality
Trailers roll steadily towards Karachi Port, loading and unloading export cargo with clockwork precision - a scene of normalcy that flies in the face of Indian media's fictional narrative of destruction. As crowds gather at bustling food streets and night traffic paints the city in motion, the so-called "bombed" city proves it's very much alive. PHOTO: Jalal Qureshi/express If one were to believe the shrill drumbeats echoing from Indian newsrooms, Karachi — a vibrant metropolis of over 30 million — would have been reduced to nothing but rubble. But just like all other lies, deceit and shenanigans that originate across the border, this too has been unmasked as fiction, not fact. Indian media's hollow cries of an "attack on Karachi" are yet another chapter in a tired playbook of fearmongering, spun not for truth, but for optics. Yet, Karachi stands tall — unbroken, undisturbed, and unimpressed. The Express Tribune has investigated the Indian media's false propaganda about an attack on Karachi and has brought to light the real situation in the city. Amid breathless Indian media reports claiming devastation and emergency in Karachi following a supposed attack, the facts on the ground tell a very different story — one of calm, continuity, and resilience. The only thing under siege was the truth itself, as Indian anchors peddled panic from behind studio desks, far removed from the ground reality. Business districts are buzzing, streets are jammed with everyday hustle, and commercial life pulses unimpeded across the metropolis. From Keamari to Korangi, Machar Colony to Malir, no trace of disruption can be found. Public transport runs routinely, cargo flows unhalted, and the city's famously tireless populace continues its daily rhythm — entirely unaffected by foreign fiction. In a striking twist, even the traffic jams once cursed by commuters were now seen as a welcome sign of peace — proof that life in the city marches on, loud and proud. Many voices from across Karachi have condemned what they call India's media warfare, aimed at pacifying its domestic audience with tales of manufactured triumph. "This is nothing more than psychological warfare," said Patron-in-Chief of the Karachi Traders Alliance Khawaja Jamal Sethi. "Karachi is open. Our markets, our petrol pumps, our lives - all are operating as normal. India is waging a war of words because it cannot win a war of truth." President of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance Malik Shehzad Awan confirmed that no disruption had occurred in cargo or commuter movement. "India is spinning tales, but the world can see that Karachi neither sleeps nor is scared." Echoing the sentiment, senior political analyst Zia Abbas pointedly remarked, "Modi's government has suffered military, moral, and diplomatic defeats. Now they are clutching at the straws of media warfare, but Pakistan sees through the façade — and so does the world." From minority leaders like Naveed Bhatti, who reaffirmed that the city's diverse communities feel safe and stand united, to humanitarian workers like Chhipa's Chaudhry Shahid Hussain, who called Indian claims "utter fabrications". Sindh's Minister for Local Government, Saeed Ghani, summed it up as "there is no emergency, no attack, and no disruption. This is Indian propaganda at its worst — and it has failed. Citizens from all religions and communities in the city are united."
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Indian warships advance closer to key Pakistani port of Karachi amid rising tensions in ongoing border clashes
Indian warships have advanced closer to the Pakistani port of Karachi amid rising tensions at the two country's borders, according to reports. A source within the Indian Armed Forces said their western fleet has moved closer to the northern Arabian Sea, meaning it is now within prime striking distance of Pakistan 's largest port. The source told The Telegraph: 'We are alert and ready to counter any threat from the adversary. The movement of the warplanes and other naval assets is for monitoring and deterrence.' The move, which believed to have started eight days ago, means the ships are now in international waters where they are likely to remain. Some of the vessels are believed to be holding an aircraft carrier, destroyers, frigates and anti-submarine ships. Others are said to be carrying the partly Russian-developed BrahMos missile, which is capable of travelling at speeds of up to 2300mph to strike targets 500 miles away. And it has sparked major fears for Pakistan as its Karachi port handles around 60 per cent of the country's trade as well as its naval base. News of the deployment, first reported by the Times of India, came after multiple blasts overnight yesterday in the city of Jammu. It plunged several districts of Indian Kashmir, including Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Rajouri, and Poonch, into darkness after causing severe power outages. Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged shells and gunfire across their frontier in Kashmir, killing at least five civilians in a growing military standoff. In Pakistan, an intense night of artillery exchanges left at least four civilians dead and wounded 12 others in areas near the Line of Control that divides Kashmir, local police official Adeel Ahmad said. Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack on a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, an accusation Islamabad rejects. On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets. On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denied that it carried out drone attacks. India said meanwhile it hit Pakistan's air defense systems and radars close to the city of Lahore. The incidents could not be independently confirmed. Pictured: A family sits in an open restaurant just before a suspected Pakistani attack in Jammu, on May 8, 2025 The Indian army said on Friday that Pakistan fired 300-400 drones overnight in violation of Indian airspace to target military installations in nearly three dozen sites along the western borders. India brought down a number of the drones using 'kinetic and non-kinetic means,' Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian air force told a news conference. Meanwhile, social platform X said in a statement on Thursday that the Indian government had ordered it to block users in the country from accessing more than 8,000 accounts, including a number of 'international news organizations and other prominent users.' The social platform did not release the list of accounts it was blocking in India, but said the order 'amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech.' Later, X briefly blocked access to the Global Affairs Account from which it had posted the statement, also citing a legal demand from India. India's biggest domestic cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, which attracts top players from around the world, was suspended for one week. Pakistan also moved its own domestic tournament to the United Arab Emirates because of the tensions. Several northern and western Indian states, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Indian-controlled Kashmir, shut schools and other educational institutions for two days. Airlines in India have also suspended flight operations from two dozen airports across northern and western regions. India's Civil Aviation Ministry confirmed in a statement the temporary closure of 24 airports on Thursday. The impact of the border flare up has also revealed itself in the Indian stock markets. In early trade on Friday, the benchmark Sensex tanked 662 points to 79,649 while Nifty 50 declined 215 points to trade at 24,058. As fears of military confrontation soar and worried world leaders call for de-escalation, US Vice President JD Vance has said that a potential war between India and Pakistan would be 'none of our business.' 'What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we're not going to get involved in the middle of war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it,' he said in an interview with Fox News.
