KARACHI: Senior member of the Dubai royal family, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, will invest around 15 percent of the equity requirement of a coal-to-gas and coal-to-liquid (C2L) processing facility to be set up in Pakistan’s southern Thar desert, officials said on Wednesday.
Al Maktoum group of private companies mainly focuses on energy, infrastructure, mining, LNG terminal development, oil and gas commodity trading and education and agriculture projects. His business is also a key strategic stakeholder in Oracle Power PLC, a United Kingdom-based power and natural resource project developer.
The exact cost of the project is not yet decided but Al Maktoum will invest 15% of the equity requirement, Naheed Memon, CEO of Oracle Power, told Arab News.
“He is also an investment partner in our projects in Pakistan in Thar; he has committed to invest 15% of the equity requirements,” Memon said on the sidelines of a stakeholder consultative conference held in Karachi to deliberate upon a coal conversation policy for Thar deposits.
The Thar desert is home to the largest lignite coal reserves in the world at an estimated 175 billion tons - the equivalent of 50 billion tons of oil and 2000 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the Geological Survey of Pakistan.
Four Pakistani leading coal mining and power generation companies are planning to convert huge deposits of coal into gas and liquid in the Thar desert in southern Sindh province, as the country moves to ban new coal-fired power plants.
Last years, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan told a virtual gathering of global leaders: “We have decided we will not have any more power based on coal … We have already scraped two coal power projects which were supposed to produce 2600 megawatt of energy. By 2030, 60 percent of all energy produced in Pakistan will be clean energy.”
Chinese companies are financing and building most of Pakistan’s coal plants through the over $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of China’s belt and road initiative.
Memon said coal to gasification was a “new technology very dependent on international commodity prices of oil and gas and required substantial investment.”
She said investment requirements were similar to coal mining for power generation; the gasification process also involved mining of coal and then its conversion into syngas, or synthesis gas, by installing gasification units.
“Approximately we are talking about $2 billion to $3 billion to produce, for example, two million ton of urea - that is the kind of money we are looking at,” said Memon, whose company is operating along with China National Coal Development company (CNCDC), in Thar.
Participants at Wednesday’s conference called for a comprehensive coal gasification policy to kickstart projects in the country.
“We have proposed to the government of Pakistan that an appropriate framework be put in place,” Memon said, adding: “The utilization could be for line gas, urea, and liquid petroleum base products for this sort of development to take place a policy has to be put in place.”
Nadeem Babar, a special advisor on petroleum, assured the participants that all energy policies would be made in consultation with stakeholders.
“We have not made any energy policy without consulting the stakeholders during two and half years of our tenure and the process will continue,” he said, addressing the conference. “We need to convert our energy sector into commodity … the government gives great importance to coal gasification and conversion into liquid petroleum”.
Pakistan currently has four coal-fired power plants worth $6.7 billion, with three using imported coal. The combined capacity of these plants set up under CPEC is 4,620 MW.
In the last five years, the share of coal-based power in Pakistan’s energy mix has gradually increased from almost negligible to more than 20%, according to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
The share of coal-based electricity generation in total thermal generation during the fiscal year 2019-20 was 31.84%, up from 18.71% in 2018-19. The utilization of coal-based power plants during fiscal year 2019-20 was almost 66% of total installed capacity of coal-based power plants, NEPRA data showed.
Coal utilization is set to expand further as five more power plants, built under the CPEC umbrella at a cost of more than $3.3 billion, are scheduled to commence operations by the end of 2026. Among these upcoming power plants, four will use Thar coal, according to the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB).
Dubai’s Al Maktoum to invest 15% equity requirement in Pakistan coal conversion project
https://arab.news/g5bj3
Dubai’s Al Maktoum to invest 15% equity requirement in Pakistan coal conversion project

- Exact cost of the coal-to-gas and coal-to-liquid processing facility not yet decided but Al Maktoum will invest 15% of equity requirement
- Last years, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government had decided not to generate any more power using coal
Pakistan says wants peace, promises ‘befitting reply’ in case of any aggression by India

- Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists
- There have been fears that New Delhi may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan, leading to a wider conflict
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan wants peace in the region, but it will give a “befitting reply” if a war was imposed by India, security sources said on Sunday, citing a Pakistani military spokesman.
The statement came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam town that killed 26 tourists on April 22. New Delhi has blamed the assault on Pakistan, Islamabad denies involvement and calls for a credible international probe into it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth” and there have been fears that India may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan. A Pakistani minister said this week Islamabad had “credible intelligence” India was planning to attack Pakistan.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry held a closed-door meeting with Pakistani political leaders on Monday, wherein the participants pondered over national security affairs in view of the “Pahalgam false flag operation,” according to security sources.
“Pakistan is a peaceful country and wants peace in the region,” the sources quoted Lt. Gen. Chaudhry as telling the participants. “But if aggression is imposed on Pakistan, then the Pakistani forces are ready to give a befitting reply to the enemy.”
During the meeting, Information Minister Tarar informed the participants about the government’s diplomatic measures after India’s accusations, while Lt. Gen. Chaudhry gave a briefing about the Pakistan’s preparations to thwart any possible Indian military action.
Top Pakistani leaders have reached out to foreign capitals and senior officials in China, United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries, amid fears that India’s possible action over the April 22 attack may lead to a wider conflict in the region.
On Monday, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, spoke with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov and apprised him of the recent regional developments.
“He [Dar] rejected India’s baseless allegations and inflammatory rhetoric against Pakistan, and condemned India’s unilateral & illegal move to hold the IWT [Indus Waters Treaty] in abeyance which is a violation of its international obligations,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
“DPM/FM emphasized that Pakistan would resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and national interests.”
India suspended the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty a day after the Pahalgam attack, saying the suspension would last until “Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” Pakistan has described the suspension of treat as an “act of war.”
There have been reports of skirmishes between Pakistani and Indian troops along their de facto border in Kashmir since the April 22 attack. The disputed region is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars and one limited conflict over the Himalayan territory.
“FM Lavrov expressed concern over the situation and stressed the importance of diplomacy to resolve issues. He emphasized that both sides should exercise restraint and avoid escalation,” the Pakistani foreign ministry added.
India-Pakistan gunfire triggers terror of past conflict

- Ties between the neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir
- Islamabad has rejected the accusations and called for a credible international probe into the attack, which killed 26 tourists on April 22
BALKOTE: For 10 nights straight, gunfire between Indian and Pakistani soldiers has echoed from the mountains and deep valleys that form the heavily defended de facto border between the nuclear-armed rivals.
And, each night, it brings back afresh the horror for 50-year-old maize farmer Bashir Dar — the last time the bitter enemies battled across the Line of Control in contested Kashmir, his wife was killed.
“The mortar shell landed right next to my wife — she died instantly,” said Dar, describing fighting in 2020 near his mountain village of Balkote, on the Indian side of the dividing line.
His home lies less than a mile from Pakistani-controlled territory.
“These days, that moment flashes in my head all the time,” the widower said, holding up a picture of his late wife.
“Every night, I sit huddled with my four children in one room — with an ear to the sounds of gunfire coming from the border.”
Relations between the neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing the worst attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir in years, in which a gang of gunmen shot dead 26 men, mostly Hindus.
Islamabad has rejected the accusations.
Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men — two Pakistanis and an Indian — accused of carrying out the April 22 attack at Pahalgam.
They say they are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organization.
India’s army said Sunday that its troops had exchanged gunfire with Pakistani soldiers overnight across the Line of Control in multiple sites, which it says has taken place every night since April 24.
The army said “unprovoked small arms fire” from Pakistan, to which Indian soldiers “responded promptly and proportionately.”
There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan, but Islamabad — whose military on Saturday said it carried out a “training launch” of a missile weapons system — has accused India of a “ceasefire violation.”
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, with both governing part of the disputed territory separately and claiming it in its entirety.
Rebel groups opposed to Indian rule have waged an insurgency since 1989. Tens of thousands have been killed.
Government employee Mansoor Ahmed, 38, took two days off to prepare his bunker he had built in the village, at a cost of some 200,000 rupees ($2,300).
“I cleaned up my bunker and stocked it up for the first time since 2021,” Ahmed said, referring to the year India and Pakistan agreed to a renewed border ceasefire.
Many of those without bunkers have already left for safer places like Baramulla, further from the dividing line.
“Six families in my neighborhood left their homes for safety during the last few days,” said truck driver Mohammad Ibrahim, who has stayed with his wife and children.
“They requested us to look after their homes and cattle.”
In the villages of Churunda and Tilawari, fearful residents said officials had visited, telling them to check the condition of a few government-constructed community bunkers.
“There are only six bunkers, and each bunker can accommodate a maximum of 15 people,” a young villager told AFP, declining to be named.
In Churunda village, there are some 120 families.
“No proper facilities exist in the bunkers, and when it rains, water enters inside. The bunkers have not been built properly,” said the man.
“If war happens, these bunkers will be useless.”
AFP reporters saw a community bunker in the village with thick concrete walls and a slab on top.
But the floor was covered in runny mud.
Residents are fearful, and watch news on their mobile phones constantly.
“We live in constant fear of becoming victims of the conflict,” said a young woman in Tilawari, who declined to be named.
“We want peace,” she said. “We want to send our children to school and live our lives without fear.”
Iranian FM to arrive in Pakistan today on visit to strengthen ties

- The development comes amid tensions in South Asia since India blamed Pakistan for an attack in disputed Kashmir
- Iran has offered to mediate the crisis between Pakistan and India that has raised fears of a wider conflict
ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi will arrive in Pakistan on Monday on a visit to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
Pakistan and Iran enjoy close ties and have signed several pacts in trade, energy and security in recent years. The two countries have also been at odds over instability on their shared porous border, but have quickly moved to ease tensions each time.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Araghchi will call on the President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, during his visit to Islamabad.
“This high-level visit reflects the deep-rooted and strong relationship between Pakistan and the brotherly nation of Iran,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
“It also underscores the two countries’ shared commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation across all areas of mutual interest. The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global developments.”
Araghchi’s visit, his second since Nov. last year, comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region since India blamed Pakistan for an attack in the disputed Kashmir region that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad has denied involvement and called for an international probe into the tragic event.
However, tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbors who have announced a raft of punitive measures against each other, while their forces have exchanged fire along their de facto border in Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth” and there have been fears that India may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan. A Pakistani minister has said that Islamabad has “credible intelligence” that India is planning to attack Pakistan within days.
Iran has offered to mediate the crisis between Pakistan and India, with Araghchi saying his country was “ready to use its good offices” to resolve the conflict.
Pakistani leaders, who have already reached out to foreign capitals over India’s aggressive posturing since the Kashmir attack, are expected to discuss with Araghchi the latest crisis with New Delhi.
“The visit of Foreign Minister Araghchi is expected to further strengthen the existing ties and enhance cooperation between the two countries,” the Pakistani foreign ministry added.
Pakistan decides to brief UN Security Council on recent standoff with India

- Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists
- Islamabad has rejected the allegation and has reached out to foreign capitals and officials amid fears India may conduct limited strikes against it
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has tasked the country’s envoy to the United Nations (UN) to take measures to summon a Security Council meeting for a briefing on heightened tensions with India since an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Sunday.
Tensions have soared between Pakistan and India to the highest point in recent years after New Delhi blamed the attack, which killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, on Islamabad. Pakistan has denied the allegation and called for a credible international investigation.
The nuclear-armed rivals have since expelled each other’s diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace to each other. New Delhi has also suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad, amid reports of skirmishes along their de facto border in Kashmir.
The Pakistani foreign ministry said Islamabad has decided to formally brief the UNSC on the current situation in South Asia and Dar has instructed Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, to arrange for it.
“Pakistan will inform the UN Security Council about India’s aggressive actions, provocations and inflammatory statements,” the foreign ministry said. “Pakistan will clarify how India’s aggressive actions are jeopardizing peace and security in South Asia and beyond the region.”
Islamabad will specifically highlight at the UNSC meeting India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farmland, according to its foreign ministry.
India suspended the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty a day after the Pahalgam attack, saying the suspension would last until “Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” Pakistan has described the suspension of treat as an “act of war.”
Public anger has swelled in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth.” A Pakistani minister has said that Islamabad has “credible intelligence” that India is planning to attack Pakistan within days.
Pakistani and Indian troops have exchanged fire along their de facto border in Kashmir. The disputed region is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars and one limited conflict over the Himalayan territory.
Top Pakistani leaders have reached out to foreign capitals and senior officials in China, United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and other countries, amid fears that India’s possible actions over the April 22 attack may lead to a wider conflict in the region.
“This important diplomatic move is part of Pakistan’s efforts to present accurate facts to the international community,” the foreign ministry added.
Turkish naval ship arrives in Pakistan on visit to strengthen maritime cooperation

- The development comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and India over an attack in Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan
- On Saturday, Turkish Ambassador Dr. Irfan Neziroglu met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and expressed Ankara’s solidarity with Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: A Turkish naval ship, TCG Büyükada, has arrived in Pakistan on a visit to strengthen maritime cooperation between the two countries, Pakistan Navy said on Sunday.
Pakistan and Türkiye share close diplomatic, economic and defense ties. Turkish defense firms have helped modernize Pakistan’s Agosta 90B-class submarines and supplied military equipment, including drones, to Islamabad.
The two countries regularly hold joint military exercises, most recently the Ataturk-XIII drills, which involved combat teams from the two special forces and aimed to enhance interoperability between them.
Upon arrival at the Karachi port, the Turkish naval ship was warmly welcomed by officials from both navies, according to the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) of Pakistan Navy.
“During its stay in Karachi, the crew of TCG Büyükada will engage in a series of professional interactions with Pakistan Navy personnel,” the DGPR said. “The visit aims to enhance mutual understanding and strengthen maritime cooperation between the two navies.”
The development comes at a time of heightened tensions between Pakistan and India over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22. New Delhi has blamed the attack on Pakistan. Islamabad has denied involvement and called for a credible international probe into it.
Since the attack, both nations have traded fire over their de facto in Kashmir, while diplomats have exchanged barbs and both countries have expelled citizens and ordered their land border shut. Both Pakistani and Indian forces have conducted military drills in a show of their military might, while Pakistan has Pakistan has test-fired a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 kilometers, amid fears India may conduct limited strikes against Pakistan on the pretext of the Kashmir attack.
With Islamabad engaged in active diplomacy to project its stance over the issue, Turkish Ambassador Dr. Irfan Neziroglu met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and expressed Ankara’s solidarity with Pakistan, Sharif’s office said on Saturday.
“The goodwill visit of TCG Büyükada stands as a testament to the ever-strengthening maritime collaboration between Pakistan and Türkiye,” the DGPR said. “It reflects the deep-rooted mutual trust and strategic partnership between the two brotherly nations, anchored in centuries-old historical and cultural ties.”