Khurram Daud (left) and Muhammad Zeeshan Ali.
| Photo Credit: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of Pakistan/Facebook
China announced on April 22 that it had selected Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud of Pakistan to be its first batch of foreign astronauts.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement that the two men will come to China as reserve astronauts for training, Global Times and Xinhua reported. After completing all training and evaluation, one of them will participate in a mission to Tiangong, the Chinese space station, as a payload specialist.
Published – April 23, 2026 09:42 am IST
