BEIJING, July 10 (APP):Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque has said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as a flagship project to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has changed Pakistan’s infrastructure layout and laid a solid foundation for Pakistan’s future development.

During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan in 2015, the two countries signed more than 50 cooperation agreements and launched a number of projects such as energy, transportation infrastructure and port construction under the CPEC framework, he told People’s Daily in an interview.

He said that the power generation and distribution projects launched and completed by Pakistan and China have greatly alleviated Pakistan’s power shortage and enhanced Pakistan’s trade and investment image. By the end of 2022, the CPEC had directly created 236,000 jobs.

Terming Gwadar Port as the pearl of the CPEC, which is crucial to Pakistan’s economic transformation, he said that this year, many key projects, including New Gwadar International Airport, will make important progress. The new projects will accelerate the development of Gwadar Port and the Free Trade Area.

Ambassador Haque said that the second phase of the construction of the CPEC has been launched, which will strongly promote the cooperation between the two countries in industry, science and technology, agriculture and other fields.

The CPEC is of great significance to Pakistan’s economic development and social progress, which is the general consensus of all sectors in Pakistan, he added.

During Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif’s visit to China in November last year, he stressed that Pakistan is willing to work with China to continue to promote the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The two countries also signed the China-Pakistan Industrial Cooperation Framework Agreement, which has injected new impetus into Pakistan’s industrialization, he said.

Ambassador Haque said that Pakistan fully supports China’s Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, because it is in line with our foreign policy goals of maintaining world peace and development, as well as the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and is conducive to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Pakistan is one of the countries that took the lead in cooperating with China on the implementation of global development initiatives, focusing on cooperation in the fields of economic and social development, poverty alleviation, health, education, infrastructure, agriculture, sports, culture and human resources development.
“We believe that this will further strengthen the all-weather strategic partnership between Pakistan and China,” he added.

Pakistan welcomes the Global Security Initiative Concept Document released by China, supports the settlement of all outstanding disputes through dialogue, and is willing to resolve all outstanding disputes that hinder the development and progress of South Asia through dialogue, he added.

He said that many countries, including Pakistan, have experienced devastating floods, earthquakes and other disasters this year. The solidarity of the international community to provide help to the people of these countries is strong proof that human solidarity and cooperation can transcend narrow geopolitics.

As China’s good neighbour, good friend, good partner and brother, Pakistan will always stand with China to jointly promote world peace and development and jointly promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, he added.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 10 (APP): :Senior United Nations officials and donor partners on Sunday visited the Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin, where they witnessed the “shocking” damage sustained during the destructive Israeli attacks this past week, according to the UN.

The two-day Israeli military operation was the fiercest in over 20 years.

At least 12 people, including four children, were killed, and another 140 were injured. Some 900 houses were damaged; many have become uninhabitable.

“We went to Jenin Camp with our partners to show solidarity with residents and reassure them that they are not alone,” Leni Stenseth, the Deputy Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said in a statement.

The delegation also included Adam Bouloukos, Director of the agency’s West Bank Field Office and Lynn Hastings, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, who were accompanied by several senior representatives from the international and donor community.

“The destruction I saw was shocking. Some houses were completely burned down, cars had been crushed against walls, and s were damaged. The UNRWA health centre was destroyed,” Ms. Stenseth said.

“But more than the physical damage, I saw the trauma in the eyes of camp residents who had witnessed the violence. I heard them speak about their exhaustion and fear.”

Around 24,000 people live in the Jenin Refugee Camp, which is located in the northern West Bank, the UN said. The UNRWA health centre there was so badly damaged that it can no longer be used, and its four schools also sustained minor damage.

While some students were back in the classroom on Sunday, attendance was very low, with some parents reporting that their children were too scared to leave their homes, it added.

Bouloukos said the delegation visited a classroom where students shared that just 10 days ago, they had buried a classmate who was killed in an earlier incursion. He said it is very hard for children to walk to school as the main roads are still unusable.

“When trying to find alternative ways to school, some younger children lost their way. We truly feared for their safety due to the risks of unexploded ordinance. A priority now is to provide mental and psychosocial support to help children cope with their fear and anxiety,” he added.

The Jenin Refugee Camp has witnessed severe violence over the last two years, UNRWA said, with 2023 being particularly intense.

“The camp is now partially without access to electricity and water,” Bouloukos said. “Nearly eight kilometers of water piping and three kilometers of sewage lines were destroyed due to the use of heavy machinery that ripped up large sections of the roads.”

Large-scale cleaning operations are underway, and UNRWA commended local and municipal authorities for their efforts in this regard.

At least 3,500 people were forced to flee their homes due to the military operation. UNRWA said priority is on helping to restore some sense of normality for residents by resuming its services in the camp, in areas such as education, health, sanitation and providing cash assistance to families.

The UN agency urged donors and partners to immediately make funds available for its humanitarian response in the camp.

Ms. Stenseth also underscored the greater need for peace across the occupied Palestinian territories “through a much needed just political solution that will also address the plight of Palestine Refugees.”