With Trump’s return to power and China’s growing influence, Pakistan faces the daunting challenge of redefining its foreign policy amid rising global uncertainties

The official inauguration of the Gwadar International Airport, initially scheduled for August last year, was delayed multiple times due to security concerns in Balochistan.

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said Pakistan and China are writing a new chapter of collaboration that will benefit the generations to come.

The Gwadar airport, funded under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was initiated in March 2019 during Imran Khan's tenure and inaugurated in October 2024 by Shahbaz Sharif.

Pakistani authorities say the country's largest airport, which was built and funded by Beijing, has become operational in the restive southwest province of Balochistan.

I ndia, which is Pakistan's nuclear-armed rival and neighbor, launched a submarine and two warships on Wednesday, bolstering its defense posture in the Indian Ocean as China continued to expand naval presence far away from its shores in East Asia.

Pakistan Naval personnel carry national flags of participating countries during the opening ceremony of Pakistan Navy's Multinational Exercise AMAN-23 (PEACE), in Karachi, Pakistan, on February 10, 2023. Photo: VCG

Contracts with Chinese power producers have left Pakistan footing a massive bill for inefficient supply – all while electricity shortfalls continue.

Pakistan’s economic transformation, driven by bold reforms and $20 billion World Bank funding, highlights opportunities in key sectors like IT, energy, and agriculture, offering lessons for sustainable growth.

With China’s growing influence and Pakistan’s modernised fleet, the emerging naval alliance poses a direct challenge to India’s strategic objectives in the Indian Ocean

Pakistan is struggling to attract commercial activity to a Chinese-funded deep-sea port in the southwest that experts say is hampered by local insecurity, a lack of basic services and the absence of plans to make the port prosper.