KARACHI: The 12th edition of the International Garments and Textile Machinery Exhibition and Conference (IGATEX) Pakistan, kicked off in Karachi on Tuesday, despite reports of India violating Pakistan’s airspace headlining major news topics across the country.
With 37 countries participating in the exhibition, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Beg, acting president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), inaugurated the event at the Expo Center in Karachi, where he also condemned the incident.
“India has violated Pakistan’s airspace. They wanted to exhibit that their craziness has not yet subsided despite Pakistan’s measures. We sent Ramesh Kumar [a Pakistani lawmaker] with a clear message of Prime Minister Imran Khan and he met with the foreign minister of India and PM Modi. We have taken some measures on our own after a national security council meeting,” Dr. Beg said.
“Against any aggression Pakistan’s business community and people are on the same page. The violation shows the frustration of Indian Prime Minister Modi who is suffering from war hysteria,” he added.
The escalating tension between the two countries follows a suicide attack on February 14 --- in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir --- which resulted in the deaths of more than 40 paramilitary troops. India blames Pakistan for the attack. Pakistan has denied the allegations.
Soon after the Pulwama incident, India had slapped restrictions on all imports and exports with Pakistan, which included a ban on vegetables too. “Our policy statement is that $2.3 billion bilateral trade betwen Pakistan and India takes place, out of which Pakistan’s exports are only $485 million while the rest $1.8 billion is of India. If business activities get hurt it would be India who will suffer more than Pakistan. They have bigger stakes,” Dr. Beg said
He added that following the restrictions, they would have to gauge whether “we can afford to trade with such an aggressive neighbor or we need to develop import substitutes especially cotton which we import from India.”
With the launch of the textile exhibition, organizers expect a footfall of more than 20,000 visitors during the three days of the event where nearly 500 companies are showcasing their products.
Turkey and China have a strong presence at the exhibition. Apart from Germany, Japan and Italy, organizers said “other countries are also taking Pakistan as an emerging market. All leading brands of textile products are participating in the exhibition.”
Meanwhile, foreign participants said that they hoped to incur better deals during the exhibition considering the fact that Pakistan was a growing textile market. “I feel safe while traveling to Pakistan. It has changed quite a lot in the last five years. The Pakistani industry is growing and it is changing, it is bringing in better technology and people are getting more educated,” Olivier Dessouslay, area sales manager of Schärer Schweiter Mettler (SSM) AG, Switzerland, told Arab News.
Turkish participants, for their part, were jubilant as they expected a further boost in trade ties during the upcoming visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the country. “We are participating in the exhibition for the last 10 years. [With the arrival of the president]...the two countries will be more familiar in the future and Pakistan’s textile market will grow as we will have good partnership in various sectors. We feel at home,” Emre Hasbay, a representative of the Turkish company Has Group Makina Endustri A.S., said.
China, too, has overwhelmingly participated in the exhibition with representatives saying that they hoped for the textile sector to grow in the backdrop of the ongoing China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. “We always concentrate on the Pakistani market. It is our traditional market for the last 30 years as our company started exporting machines to Pakistan in the 1980s. The CPEC is a great initiative.... We hope that Pakistan’s textile sector will grow rapidly in the coming years,” Qu Zhenjie, chief representative of the China Texmatech Company in Thailand, told Arab New.
Other participants said that with the improved law and order situation in the country, major nations are considering Pakistan as a potential investment destination. Additionally, recent investment deals worth $21 billion signed by Saudi Arabia has created the impression that Pakistan is no longer an unsafe option for foreign investment.
Mega international textile exhibition begins in Karachi despite trade ban by India
Mega international textile exhibition begins in Karachi despite trade ban by India
- By imposing restrictions, New Delhi will suffer more than Islamabad, FPCCI official says
- Pakistan is emerging as a major market in the region, foreign participants say
Pakistan ex-PM Khan, wife appeal graft convictions
- Khan has been convicted four times since his arrest in Aug. 2023, with two convictions overturned and the sentences in the other two cases suspended
- A graft court this month found Khan and his wife guilty of ‘corruption’ over a welfare foundation they established together called the Al-Qadir Trust
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi appealed against their convictions for graft on Monday, his lawyer said.
Khan, 72, has been held in custody since August 2023 charged in around 200 cases that he claims are politically motivated.
The former cricketing star was sentenced to 14 years in jail and his wife to seven this month in the latest case to be brought against them.
“We have filed appeals today and in the next few days it will go through clerical processes and then it will be fixed for a hearing,” Khan’s lawyer Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry told AFP outside Islamabad High Court.
Khan has been convicted four times since his arrest, with two convictions overturned and the sentences in the other two cases suspended.
A special graft court found the pair guilty of “corruption and corrupt practices” over a welfare foundation they established together called the Al-Qadir Trust.
The court hearing for the case was postponed three times and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said earlier it was being used to pressure him into cutting a deal with the government to step back from politics.
Khan alleged before the conviction that he had been “indirectly approached” about the possibility of house arrest at his sprawling home on Islamabad’s outskirts.
Bibi, a faith healer who married Khan shortly before he was elected in 2018, is being held at the same jail as her husband in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, close to the capital Islamabad.
Khan’s popularity continues to undermine a shaky coalition government that kept PTI from power in elections last year.
Even from behind bars, Khan has fired off statements through his legal team railing against the government and promising to fight his battles through the courts.
Sometimes violent protests have paralyzed Islamabad in recent months and the party has announced further rallies next month to mark one year since elections that were marred by allegations of rigging.
Khan called off talks with the government last week aimed at easing political tensions.
Ousted from power by a no-confidence vote in 2022, the former cricket star has since launched an unprecedented campaign in which he has openly criticized Pakistan’s powerful generals.
Analysts say the military’s leaders are Pakistan’s kingmakers, although the generals deny interfering in politics.
A UN panel of experts found last year that Khan’s detention “had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office.”
Khan was barred from standing in last February’s election and his PTI party was hamstrung by a widespread crackdown.
PTI won more seats than any other party but a coalition considered more pliable to the military’s influence shut them out of power.
Pakistan sets up pavilion at Arab Health expo to demonstrate health care manufacturing prowess
- The exhibition, running from Jan. 27 till Jan. 30, focuses on nine key product sectors, including medical equipment, disposables and surgical goods
- Pakistan Pavilion is hosting 40 Pakistani firms at the exhibition, highlighting the importance of enhancing Pakistan’s exports across diverse sectors
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has set up its pavilion at the Arab Health 2025 exhibition in Dubai to showcase the South Asian country’s capabilities in health care manufacturing and innovation, the Pakistani embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Monday.
Arab Health 2025, organized under the patronage of the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, is one of the largest and most prestigious health care exhibitions in the world. This year, the event is featuring over 3,800 exhibitors and has attracted more than 60,000 health care professionals and industry leaders from over 70 countries.
The exhibition, running from Jan. 27 till Jan. 30, focuses on nine key product sectors, including medical equipment and devices, disposables and surgical goods, orthopedics and physiotherapy, imaging and diagnostics, general health care services, health care infrastructure, wellness and prevention, health care transformation and health care technology.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE Faisal Niaz Tirmizi inaugurated the Pakistan Pavilion at the expo at Dubai World Trade Center, which is hosting 40 leading Pakistani companies under the umbrella of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), highlighting the importance of enhancing Pakistan’s exports across diverse sectors to achieve sustainable economic growth.
“Arab Health has served as an important platform for the health care industry over the past 50 years for collaboration, innovation, and shaping the future of health care,” Ambassador Tirmizi said as he inaugurated the pavilion.
“Our mission is committed to doubling the number of Pakistani exhibitors at next year’s exhibition.”
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States (US), and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE foreign ministry. Policymakers in Pakistan consider the UAE an optimal export destination due to its geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.
The Arab Health exhibition also hosts scientific conferences offering insights into the latest trends in health care, advancements in digital health and artificial intelligence and strategic investment opportunities in the sector.
Ambassador Tirmizi emphasized the significance of leveraging platforms like Arab Health to foster business-to-business linkages, drive innovation in research and development, and enhance collaboration in digital health care services, according to the Pakistani embassy.
Pakistani exhibitors expressed their satisfaction with the arrangements and reiterated the importance of Arab Health in unlocking Pakistan’s export potential in the UAE and the broader Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets.
Pakistan to invite local businessmen in renewed push to privatize loss-making national airline
- A deal to sell off the Pakistan International Airlines fell through late last year, after a potential buyer reportedly offered a fraction of the asking price
- Pakistan hopes the recent opening of European routes, expected to be followed by a similar announcement by the UK, will boost PIA’s selling potential
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has renewed its efforts to privatize the loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and plans on inviting local businessmen to the new bidding process, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday.
Pakistan’s government has been scrambling to find a buyer to privatize the debt-ridden airline since late last year, when a deal fell through after a potential buyer reportedly offered a fraction of the asking price.
The airline posted losses of $270 million in 2023, according to local media reports. Its liabilities were nearly $3 billion, about five times the total worth of its assets.
Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, Sharif said a new effort was being carried out to privatize the airline, so that PIA becomes the PIA of its heydays in the ‘60s.
“This time we are inviting Pakistani businessman from Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore,” Sharif said in televised comments. “A new bidding process will be carried out, whichever group wins the bid, PIA will be given to them.”
The development comes weeks after PIA resumed its operations in Europe, with the first flight to Paris on Jan. 10, following a hiatus of four years.
The airline was restricted in 2020 by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) after Pakistan launched an investigation into the validity of pilots’ licenses issued in the country, following a PIA plane crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. EASA lifted its ban on PIA in November last year, however, the airline remains barred from flying to the UK and the US.
Separately on Monday, a delegation from the UK’s Department for Transport and Civil Aviation Authority arrived in Pakistan to conduct a safety assessment ahead of the resumption of PIA flight operations between the two countries, according to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
“There will be several high-level meetings between the two sides,” the PCAA said in a statement. “The discussions will examine aviation safety protocols, review documentation, and evaluate operational procedures.”
Pakistan’s government hopes the opening of European routes, which officials expect will be followed by a similar announcement by the UK later this year, will boost PIA’s selling potential.
“We will take PIA back to the slogan ‘Great People To Fly With’,” Sharif said at the Islamabad ceremony. “This is difficult but not impossible.”
Pakistan to issue red notices for human traffickers in bid to curb illegal practice
- Development comes days after a boat capsized near Morocco on Jan. 15 while carrying 66 Pakistanis among 86 migrants
- The tragedy once again underscored the perilous journeys many migrants embark on due to conflict, instability at home
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered authorities to issue red notices for human traffickers in order to curb the illegal practice, Pakistani state media reported, days after a migrant boat carrying over 60 Pakistanis capsized near Morocco.
The boat capsized near Morocco’s coast on Jan. 15 while carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said last week that it was in process of repatriating 22 survivors of the tragedy.
The Morocco tragedy has once again underscored the perilous journeys many migrants, including Pakistanis, embark on due to conflict and economic instability in their home countries.
PM Sharif gave the orders to issue red notices for human traffickers at the first meeting of a task force he formed last week to curb human smuggling, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The prime minister instructed the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] to provide the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the information gathered during investigations to facilitate the swift extradition of human traffickers,” the report read.
A red notice is a request from a member country of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to other member states to locate and arrest a person to extradite them to face criminal charges.
The Morocco tragedy is not the first one involving Pakistani migrants in recent years.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. More recently, five Pakistani nationals died in a shipwreck off the southern Greek island of Gavdos on Dec. 14.
The Pakistani government has ramped up efforts in recent months to combat human smugglers facilitating dangerous journeys for illegal immigrants to Europe, resulting in several arrests. PM Sharif has also urged increased collaboration with international agencies like Interpol to ensure swift action against human trafficking networks.
“Complete eradication of human trafficking can only be achieved through the collective efforts and cooperation of all institutions,” Sharif told officials at Monday’s meeting.
Pakistan central bank cuts key policy rate to 12 percent amid easing inflation
- The State Bank of Pakistan has slashed rates from an all-time high of 22 percent in June 2024
- Pakistan’s consumer inflation rate fell to 4.1 percent in December, its lowest in over six years
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central bank has cut its key interest rate by 100 basis points to 12 percent, the bank’s governor announced on Monday, amid easing inflation and expectations for growth to pick up after consecutive rate cuts in the last six months.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has slashed rates from an all-time high of 22 percent in June last year in one of the most aggressive moves among central banks of emerging markets.
Speaking at a press conference, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed said inflation would ease further in January, but core inflation remained elevated, forecasting that full-year inflation would remain between 5.5-7.5 percent in the fiscal year ending in June.
“The Monetary Policy Committee, after a lot of discussions, decided to reduce our policy rate from 13 percent to 12 percent. In other words, a reduction of 100 basis points was decided in today’s meeting,” he said.
“Our full-year forecast for this year, from July 2024 to June 2025, is that the full-year inflation, in our opinion, will be between 5.5 percent and 7.5 percent.”
Pakistan’s consumer inflation rate fell to 4.1 percent in December, its lowest in more than six years, helped by favorable base effects. It was below the government’s forecast and down from a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023.
Pakistan posted a current account surplus of $0.6 billion in Dec., bringing the cumulative surplus to $1.2 billion for the first half of the current fiscal year, according to the central bank governor. This was the result of “major positive developments” in the last six months.
“The current account level that we are foreseeing now, which would be the average of this entire year, that is 0.5 percent deficit to 0.5 percent surplus,” Ahmed said.
The central bank maintained its forecast of full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 2.5-3.5 percent. Under a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan’s $350 billion economy grew 0.92 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2024-25, according to data approved by the National Accounts Committee in Dec.
The IMF will conduct a first review of the program in March, according to Ahmed.
“We have taken all actions required by the IMF from the central bank’s side,” he added.
Topline Securities, a Karachi-based brokerage and securities firm, said the latest rate cut would positively impact high leverage, cyclical and consumer discretionary companies.
“The leverage companies will benefit from lower finance cost, cyclicals will benefit from recovery of economy and consumer discretionary companies like autos will benefit from expected rise in consumer financing,” it said.
“Sector-wise, textile sector should stand beneficiary due to high leverage with positive impact of 3-5 percent, Steels 2-4 percent, and cement sector 2-3 percent.”