2 Pakistani astronauts selected as candidates for China’s space programme

China has selected two Pakistani astronauts as candidates for its manned space programme, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday.

Both will travel to China for training, and one will participate in a flight mission as a payload specialist and become the first foreign astronaut in China’s space station, CCTV said.

Meanwhile, China Daily reported on Wednesday that the astronauts were identified as Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud. The report said the two had passed multiple rounds of selection procedures and will soon come to China to take part in spaceflight training.

It quoted the China Manned Space Agency as saying that the selection and training of Pakistani astronauts was a “landmark event in the history of China’s space industry”.

In February 2025, Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) and China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) had signed a cooperation agreement. Under the pact, two Pakistanis were to train in China, with one joining a mission on the Tiangong space station operated by Beijing.

In February this year, two astronauts were shortlisted for Pakistan’s Human Spaceflight Programme by the Astronauts Centre of China.

China has been barred from particip­ating in the International Space Station since 2011, when the US prohibited Nasa from collaborating with Chinese space agencies. Since then, Beijing has sought to build partnerships with other countries — including Pakistan — in its expanding space programme.