Shanghai | Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reached China’s Shanghai on two-day visit on Thursday to sign an agreement for Pakistan to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) as a founding member, the Foreign Office (FO) said. China proposed the creation of WAICO last year for AI governance. Upon his arrival in China, Dar was received by Shanghai Vice Mayor Wu Wei, Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires to China Aizaz Khan and Consul General of Pakistan in Shanghai Shahzad Ahmad Khan, the FO said on X. It added that apart from attending the signing ceremony of WAICO, Dar will also participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 during the visit and engage with other leaders to advance international AI cooperation and promote inclusive, equitable AI governance. An earlier statement by the FO said that Dar would also hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, as well as meetings with other officials to discuss matters of mutual interest during t...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left for a two-day visit to China’s Shanghai on Thursday to sign an agreement for Pakistan to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) as a founding member, the Foreign Office (FO) said. China proposed the creation of WAICO last year for AI governance. According to FO, Dar would also participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 during the visit and engage with other leaders to advance international AI cooperation and promote inclusive, equitable AI governance. An earlier statement by the FO said that Dar would also hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, as well as meetings with other officials to discuss matters of mutual interest during the China trip. “During his engagements, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on strengthening international cooperation in artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on the priorities and development nee...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will travel to Shanghai from July 16-17 to attend the signing ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO), the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement on Wednesday. According to the FO, Dar will travel with a delegation at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The deputy prime minister will attend the signing ceremony and sign the agreement on behalf of Pakistan as a founding member. “He will also participate in the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance on 17 July 2026,” the FO added. On the sidelines of the conference, Dar will hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, as well as meetings with other officials to discuss matters of mutual interest. “During his engagements, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on strengthening international cooperation in artificial int...

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the “Shanghai spirit” and called for a joint strategy among SCO member states to counter terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime and terror financing. Naqvi said this at a special meeting of the Ministers of Interior and Public Security of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He said the region faced “serious and complex security challenges” that were interconnected, noting that criminal and terrorist networks were rapidly adapting to technological advancements, exploiting artificial intelligence, digital platforms, online networks and cryptocurrency transactions to expand their activities. The interior minister emphasised the importance of modernising institutional coordination and enhancing intelligence-sharing mechanisms across the region to tackle these threats. Shared threats demanded shared solutions, Naqvi told the delegates, further calling for a comprehensive regional stra...

India has issued a demarche to China after a woman from Arunachal Pradesh alleged that she was detained at the Shanghai airport by immigration officials for 18 hours, who “mocked” her and said that the territory was not part of India, according to Indian media. China says Arunachal Pradesh is a part of South Tibet — a claim India has repeatedly dismissed. Beijing has renamed places in the northeastern Himalayan state multiple times, prompting strong reactions from New Delhi. The woman, named Pema Wangjom Thongdok, said in yesterday’s interview to ANI that she was an Indian citizen residing in the United Kingdom for about 14 years. Thongdok said she was travelling from London to Japan’s Osaka via Shanghai on November 21, when Chinese authorities held her back for 18 hours. Detailing her “very long ordeal”, Thongdok alleged that Chinese immigration officials at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport declared her visa as “not acceptable” and her Indian passport as invalid. She further said the officials “mock...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday visited the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shanghai, accompanied by First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.