China selects two Pakistanis as its first foreign astronauts, state media report

China has named two Pakistani nationals as the first foreign astronauts in its human spaceflight programme, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on April 22, according to reports by Global Times and Xinhua. Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud have been selected to come to China as reserve astronauts for training, the CMSA said in a statement cited by the outlets.

After completing all training and evaluation, one of the two will participate in a mission to Tiangong, China’s space station, as a payload specialist. The announcement marks the first batch of foreign astronauts chosen by China for its crewed space programme, the reports said.

The planned mission would place one of the Pakistani trainees aboard Tiangong following their successful completion of the required preparation. Further details on the training schedule and mission timing were not provided in the reports.