Pak got a "big" aid deal from China; not to reveal amount under instructions from Prez Xi:Imran Khan
Islamabad, Nov 16: Pakistan has received a "big" package of aid from its all-weather ally, China, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Friday, but will not reveal the quantum of financial support as President Xi Jinping has asked him not to reveal it, a media report said.
Prime Minister Khan made his maiden visit to Beijing earlier this month and met President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang and other Chinese leaders and sought aid to overcome the financial woes faced by his cash-strapped government.
The Pakistan government is facing grave economic challenges as it struggles to avoid a financial crisis and keep the economy afloat.
During an interaction with journalists at the PM House, Khan said that Pakistan has received a "big" package of aid from China but will not reveal it, Geo News quoted Khan as saying.
The prime minister said he did not want to reveal the quantum of aid from Beijing as other countries will start demanding more money from China, the report said.
Chinese President Xi has asked Khan not to announce the quantum of financial support, the Geo News report quoted the Pakistani prime minister as saying.
Unlike Saudi Arabia, which has announced a USD 6 billion aid package to Pakistan, Beijing has not revealed the quantum of its financial aid to Islamabad.
After his talks with Khan on November 3, Premier Li said China will provide the "necessary support" to Pakistan to tide over the present financial crisis.
Speaking about his recent trip to China, Khan said, "Concrete results of my visit are beginning to show. We are receiving all forms of aid from China and are satisfied."
"No other previous premiers' tours to China were as successful as mine was," he claimed.
Khan, whose government is currently negotiating a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund, appeared confident that Pakistan's economy will overcome the current difficulties by next year.
"The next three to six months are difficult but from next year onward our economic situation is going to improve significantly and we will be on the right track," he said.
Commenting on the ongoing money laundering probe and the foreign assets owned by Pakistanis, Imran said, "We have traced USD 15 billion that was sent to Dubai from Pakistan."
"Work is under way to bring back looted wealth," he added. "We have also signed agreements with Britain and Switzerland," he said.
While speaking about his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's decision to not give chairmanship of Public Accounts Committee to the Leader of the Opposition, Shehbaz Sharif, Khan said, "Those facing corruption cases cannot be appointed PAC chairperson."
"We will not appoint Shehbaz Sharif as PAC chairperson under any circumstances," he asserted.
Shehbaz, the younger brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and ex-chief minister of Punjab province, is currently in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau on charges of corruption linked to a housing scheme.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
