Former Pakistani Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has hailed the deepening cooperation between China and Pakistan in space exploration, saying the two countries' long-standing friendship and mutual trust are poised to extend from the Earth into space.
In an interview with the China Media Group (CMG) during a recent visit to China, Kakar highlighted the vast opportunities which have emerged following a cooperation agreement signed between the two governments in February, which will see Pakistani astronauts trained to take part in future space missions.
The deal marks the first time China will train foreign astronauts, paving the way for the arrival of the first foreign visitor to China's Tiangong space station.
Following the agreement, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced in April that it would select and train two Pakistani astronauts, with one slated to serve as a payload specialist on a future Chinese space station flight.
Kakar said the decision reflects the high level of strategic mutual trust between the two sides and demonstrates that bilateral cooperation has entered a new stage featuring broader scope and deeper engagement.
"We are electrified, we are super excited, this journey from the planet to space, from planet Earth to space is an amazing journey of partnership, of friendship, of reliability, of trustworthiness towards one another. The people, the nation, the countries who can trust one another on the planet would be trusting each other in space. That could be an amazing moment. And all of the Pakistani nation is really looking forward for that moment and we are super excited," said Kakar.
Earlier this year, China also granted Pakistani scientists with access to lunar samples collected by the country's Chang'e-5 mission, further highlighting the collaboration in space and scientific research.
China has been deepening its role in international space research and cooperation in recent years, partnering with over 60 other institutions and 17 other nations to advance lunar and deep space exploration.
Friendship with China to extend "from Earth to space": former Pakistani PM
While floodwaters began to recede across parts of Bangkok on Wednesday, thousands of residents in the capital's low-lying suburbs remained marooned, grappling with severe disruptions to electricity, clean water, and essential services in neighborhoods accessible only by boat.
A severe nationwide flooding swept through 42 Thai provinces between Sept 16 and 28, impacting 1.8 million people and leaving at least 8 people dead, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Officials reported that 28 provinces, primarily across Thailand's central, northern, eastern, and northeastern regions, remain affected by the disaster.
In the Lat Krabang district on Bangkok's eastern edge, just kilometers from the Suvarnabhumi Airport, streets remain submerged deep enough to swallow cars.
For the tens of thousands of people living there, the danger is not the rising water, but the grueling daily struggle to survive.
"It's devastating. Nobody can make a living. I have no money right now; all I have left is myself," said Mu Boonpitaksorn, a local resident.
With roads submerged and utility lines cut, small boats have become the communities' only connection to the outside world, delivering food, drinking water and medicine while serving as a crucial lifeline for evacuations.
"They are losing hope. That's what I think. This is one of the largest disaster area for the moment. People with disability, elderly people, family with younger children, it's much difficult for them to stay on into the community as they used to," said Weerasak Kowsurat, secretary general of the Friends in Need (of "PA") Volunteers Foundation.
Although temporary shelters have been established across the capital to offer safety, food, and dry ground to the displaced, evacuees face the reality of walking away from everything they could not carry.
"It's all gone. I have nothing left. Absolutely nothing. Fridge, washing machine, fan, air conditioner… nothing left at all. Inside my home is all mud. It's too much, it's beyond despair," said Sumontha Huanarvorn, an evacuee.
Even as Bangkok gradually dries out, the floodwaters continue to separate families from their homes, belongings, and routines, leaving residents waiting desperately for roads to reappear, and hoping they will eventually lead back to the life they knew before the deluge.
Bangkok suburbs endure daily struggle as floodwaters linger
