@SputnikInt

🚨🇵🇰🇷🇺 Russia supports incorporating Pakistan's Gwadar Port into the International North–South Transport Corridor -- Deputy PM

"We have long been in talks with Pakistan about connecting to the North–South Transport Corridor," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said in response to a Sputnik question on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum

He stressed that the parties are discussing various options for connectivity between Russia and Pakistan, including railways. According to him, work on the North–South Corridor continues despite conflicts in the region, including in Iran

"Therefore, we certainly welcome such initiatives from Pakistan," Overchuk said

https://x.com/sputnikint/status/2055292617949098299?s=61&t=mgTx...


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Historic opportunity

The May 2025 victory and the ongoing mediation in US-Iran crisis have raised Islamabad’s profile in West Asia


https://www.thenews.pk/tns/detail/1415630-historic-opportunity

Pakistan is clearly trying to carve out a middle-power role for itself—strategically positioned, militarily capable and diplomatically agile. Geography alone provides rare leverage. Gwadar Port, a deep-sea harbour on the Arabian Sea, sits at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. For China, it is the crown jewel of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. For the rest of the region, it is a potential linchpin for trade and connectivity—one that could one day rival the Gulf ports.

Talking to The News on Sunday, Pakistan’s former ambassador to China and the European Union Naghmana Hashmi says Islamabad is walking a careful line between Washington, Beijing, Riyadh and Tehran. It has to avoid over-commitment to any one axis. “Recent mediation in West Asian crises shows that it is developing a knack for small-group negotiations that cut through a power gridlock.”

“The May 2025 conflict with India cemented its credentials. By effectively challenging the perception of Indian military superiority, Pakistan demonstrated credible kinetic capability.” Citing a report by the Henry Stimson Centre, she says, the strategic takeaway for outside observers was clear: Pakistan’s air defences and counter-strike capabilities were credible.

Crucially, Islamabad did not press its military advantage. “A ceasefire negotiated on May 10 allowed Pakistan to de-escalate from a position of strength rather than weakness,” she says. “The twin outcome of proven capability and strategic restraint enabled Pakistan to project itself as a regional stabiliser rather than just another nuclear-armed state. This restored a measure of international confidence in the country’s strategic relevance.”

That credibility soon translated into tangible partnerships. The Pak-Saudi Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement followed Israeli strikes on Qatar, as Gulf states realised that American guarantees and advanced air defences could prove useless against Israel. Against this backdrop, Gulf capitals wanted a partner that could deliver under pressure. “Pakistan, fresh from the May crisis, fit the brief,” says Hashmi.

As Georgetown’s F Gregory Gause has noted, the Saudi-Pakistani security relationship is decades old; what changed in 2025 was its formalisation into a binding mutual-defence framework. Other Gulf states are reportedly exploring similar arrangements. The pact’s core clause—that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both”—is the closest thing the Gulf has to an Article 5-style commitment. And it is underwritten by the only Muslim-majority state commanding a nuclear arsenal.

Pakistan’s operational PV capacity estimated a 51 GW – pv magazine International


https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/05/19/pakistans-operational-pv-cap...

Latest report from Renewables First finds that Pakistan’s solarization continues to grow with households, farms and businesses turning to distributed solar to reduce their reliance on the grid.

MAY 19, 2026 PATRICK JOWETT

Pakistan had deployed an estimated 51 GW of solar as of March 2026, according to a new report from Renewables First, with solar module imports reaching 54 GW by the end of the same month.

The latest edition of the think tank’s flagship report, Pakistan Electricity Review 2026, finds that electrification in Pakistan is accelerating through distributed solar installations despite grid-based indicators suggesting stagnation.

Figures in the report highlight that electricity generated by utility-scale power sources in Pakistan reached 135 TWh in the period from July 2024 to June 2025, known as fiscal year 2025 (FY25), representing a 2% year-on-year decline. This is the fourth consecutive decline in reliance on utility-scale electricity generation, which peaked at 154 TWh in fiscal year 2022 (FY22).

Away from these figures, distributed solar, consisting of net-metering, behind-the-meter and off-grid solar deployment, generated 51 TWh in FY25, taking Pakistan's total electricity generation to a record 186 TWh. Renewables First’s report says the 51 TWh generated last fiscal year is equivalent to roughly 46% of grid-supplied electricity over the same time period.

Speaking during a webinar launching the report earlier today, Renewables First Associate – Energy Insights, Nabiya Imran, explained that new growth in electricity is increasingly being met by distributed solar. “It is being met outside the grid,” Imran said. “Or in other words, the demand that was first entirely on the grid has migrated to behind the meter and net metered distributed solar.”

The report adds that grid sales, defined as the electricity purchased by consumers from the state-owned central utility network, reached 111 TWh in FY25, a 1.7% increase year-on-year but down on a FY22 peak. “This does not reflect falling electricity demand,” the report explains. “Instead, a growing share of consumption is being met through distributed solar, indicating that underlying electricity use continues to rise but is increasingly bypassing the grid.”

Renewables First latest report follows previous research that highlighted the scale of Pakistan’s solar market is underrepresented in official statistics. In today’s webinar, Imran explained that there are two parallel systems currently operating in Pakistan.

“On one side, we have the centralized grid, which is structured around unidirectional power flows, thermal plants and thermal dependence. At the same time, we have consumers investing increasingly in distributed solar, driven by high electricity tariffs and cheaper solar panel costs,” Imran told attendees. “So, there's a mismatch between these two systems. The goal is to bridge that mismatch, because that will help us reduce our fossil fuel dependence and improve macroeconomic resilience.”

Pakistan’s operational PV capacity estimated a 51 GW – pv magazine International


https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/05/19/pakistans-operational-pv-cap...

Imran added that clean technologies such as solar, batteries and electric vehicles are also an opportunity to localize manufacturing. “And in turn, it supports the broader economic development of the country,” she said.

In the report’s forward, Sohaib Malik, Senior Fellow – Energy Transitions at Renewables First, wrote that while policymakers are starting to recognize the challenges facing the country’s centralized model of power generation and supply, the full extent of the shift is yet to be appreciated by most stakeholders because of the incomplete and imprecise datasets available to them.

The report adds that with distributed solar eroding utility revenues faster than thermal capacity can be rationalized, the sector is moving towards an inflection point with insufficient policy frameworks to navigate it.”

“The sector’s inflection point will depend on how quickly planning and policy frameworks adapt to decentralized, bi-directional electricity flows,” the report says. “A shift in focus from capacity expansion to system optimization (flexibility, storage and demand side management) will be critical to improving efficiency and reducing costs.”