KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s mammoth palm oil sector faces a new threat after Indian traders were asked to halt purchases amid a diplomatic row over Kashmir, piling further pressure on the industry as Europe also plans cutbacks.
The Southeast Asian nation is the second-biggest producer after Indonesia of the oil, used in everything from food to cosmetics, in a sector long vilified by environmentalists who blame it for fueling deforestation.
With Western companies reducing use of the commodity as green groups ratchet up pressure, the top two growers have increasingly come to rely on demand from India, the world’s biggest buyer of edible oils, and China.
But a speech by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the United Nations General Assembly last month, in which he said New Delhi had “invaded and occupied” Kashmir, has sparked a backlash in India that could badly hit the sector.
There has been sympathy in mostly Muslim Malaysia for Kashmiris after the Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi revoked the Muslim-majority region’s autonomy in August, and imposed a lockdown to quell unrest.
Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since 1947, and has sparked wars and numerous skirmishes between the two countries. An armed rebellion against Indian rule has raged in the valley since 1989.
Mahathir’s comments prompted calls for Indians to shun Malaysian products — with social media users posting angry messages alongside the hashtag #BoycottMalaysia — while rumors swirled New Delhi may hike tariffs on Malaysian palm oil.
Earlier this week, a major Indian vegetable oil trade body called on its 875 members to avoid buying palm oil from Malaysia, noting the government was mulling retaliatory measures.
“In your own interest as well as a mark of solidarity with our nation, we should avoid purchases from Malaysia for the time being,” said Atul Chaturvedi, president of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India.
It is a blow for Malaysia, as India was the country’s third-biggest market for palm oil and palm oil products in 2018, with a value of 6.84 billion ringgit ($1.63 billion).
Teresa Kok, the minister who oversees the commodity, scrambled to defuse tensions, describing the association’s move as a “major setback” and saying Malaysia was looking at increasing imports of sugar and buffalo meat from India.
The row is a further hit to the sector in Malaysia after the European Union announced plans to phase out palm oil in biofuels by 2030. Malaysia and Indonesia have vowed to fight the move, saying it could damage the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers.
Despite attempts by some Malaysian officials to calm the spat, calls are growing in India for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to curb palm oil imports.
Such a move would signal that “countries gaining economically from India while criticizing the country politically will not have a free run anymore,” Neelam Deo, director of Mumbai-based think-tank Gateway House, told AFP.
Tensions have also risen between India and Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the UN General Assembly that Indian-administered Kashmir was “besieged.”
Reports have since said that Modi had canceled a planned visit to Turkey as a result, and that India could axe a $2.3 billion order with a Turkish shipyard.
India’s foreign ministry, however, denied that any such visit was planned.
New Delhi has yet to take any formal measures against Malaysia or Turkey but Bloomberg News reported last week that India was considering placing curbs on some imports from both countries, citing people familiar with the matter.
Despite the furor, Mahathir has been unapologetic, reportedly telling journalists last week: “We speak... our minds and we don’t retract and change.”
“Sometimes what we say is liked by some and disliked by others,” added the famously outspoken 94-year-old, known for his acid-tongued attacks on Jews and the West during a first stint in office from 1981 to 2003.
And with nationalistic anger growing in India, the row appears unlikely to end soon.
“It’s not purely a palm oil issue,” James Chin, a Malaysia expert at the University of Tasmania, told AFP. “It ties in with egos... and nationalism.”
Kashmir row sparks Malaysia, India palm oil tensions
Kashmir row sparks Malaysia, India palm oil tensions
- Malaysian PM speech at the UNGA on Kashmir last month, has sparked a backlash in India
- Mahathir's comments prompted calls for Indians to shun Malaysian products -- with hashtag #BoycottMalaysia
ICC board to meet virtually today amid Pakistan-India Champions Trophy impasse
- World cricket body to consider various options to end the stalemate between the two neighbors
- ICC Champions Trophy tournament will be held from Feb. 19 till Mar. 9 after an eight-year hiatus
ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) board is set to meet virtually today, Friday, to discuss three options to end a stalemate between Pakistan and India ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament that is slated to be held in February next year, ESPNcricinfo reported.
Pakistan is set to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi from February 19 till March 9. However, political tensions with India have already cast a shadow over the tournament following the refusal by Indian authorities to allow their team to play in Pakistan.
Last week, the ICC informed Pakistan of India’s decision, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to seek a clarification. Pakistan has already ruled out a hybrid model to host the tournament, unlike last year’s Asia Cup, wherein all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka.
The situation created uncertainty and tension until the ICC released the tournament promo, visually reaffirming that Pakistan will host the championship. According to AP, the ICC board could decide on the issue by voting among members.
“The ICC board will congregate on Friday in the hopes of ending the saga of where and how the 2025 Champions Trophy will be played with less than three months to the scheduled start of the event,” ESPNcricinfo reported. “They will consider three options.”
The first option would be to adopt a hybrid model that has already been ruled out by Pakistan, while the second option revolves around the PCB retaining hosting rights and the tournament being played “entirely out of Pakistan,” according to the report.
The third option would be to hold the entire tournament in Pakistan, “but without India.”
“The last of those options is almost a non-starter, given the negative financial and commercial impact it will have on the tournament,” the report read. “The chances of a hybrid model were reduced on Thursday after a PCB official told ESPNcricinfo they had informed the ICC once again that it was off the table.”
The report quoted the official as saying that the PCB had asked for a “reasonable or acceptable” proposal to Pakistan before the ICC board meeting. It said the chances of a hybrid model had increased, quoting PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi as saying that he would discuss the ICC board’s decision with the Pakistani government.
“Whatever we do, we will make sure the best outcome for Pakistan is achieved,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Naqvi as saying. “But I repeat, and I am sure you know what I mean, it’s not possible that Pakistan play in India, and they don’t come here.”
Naqvi also doubled down on Pakistan not being willing to play in India any longer. India will be hosting the Women’s World Cup next year, Asia Cup in 2025, Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026 and Champions Trophy in 2029.
Pakistan could consider a hybrid model if the ICC gave the PCB the same option for tournaments being hosted by India, according to ESPNcricinfo.
It quoted the PCB chairman as saying that Pakistan would not be motivated by any financial settlement.
“We’ll not just sell our rights out just for more money. This will never happen. But we’ll do whatever is best for Pakistan,” he said.
A decades-long tense political situation between the two South Asian countries hasn’t seen India playing international cricket in Pakistan since 2008 when it competed in the Asia Cup. Both nations have competed in ICC tournaments, with Pakistan touring India last year for the 50-over World Cup.
The ICC is in talks with the PCB and the participating boards before finalizing the schedule of the eight-team tournament. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tour kicked off on Saturday after the trophy was displayed at the Pakistan Monument and Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.
Authorities issue rain, snowfall alert for upper parts of Pakistan
- Local authorities, emergency responders and public have been asked to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions
- Residents of hilly areas should exercise caution while traveling due to slippery roads and reduced visibility, authorities say
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a weather alert for upper parts of the country, predicting rain, thunderstorms and snowfall as a result of a westerly wave.
The western and upper parts of the country are likely to experience rain, wind and thunderstorms, with snowfall expected in mountainous areas, according to the NDMA.
"Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Malakand and Hazara divisions, is expected to receive rain and thunderstorms, along with snowfall in [areas with] higher altitudes," the NDMA said in a statement.
"The plains of Punjab will largely experience dry conditions, although smog and fog are likely to persist, especially during early morning and nighttime."
Rain and thunderstorms are also expected in the Pothohar region and its surroundings.
The NDMA said it had advised local authorities, emergency responders and the public to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions.
"Residents in northern and hilly areas should exercise caution while traveling due to the risk of slippery roads and reduced visibility," it said.
"Farmers are encouraged to safeguard their crops against potential weather impacts."
Additionally, the NDMA asked people in smog-affected areas to minimize outdoor exposure and take protective measures during low-visibility conditions.
Iraq tries to stem influx of illegal foreign workers from Pakistan, other nations
- The Iraqi labor ministry says the influx is mainly from Pakistan, Syria and Bangladesh, also citing 40,000 registered immigrant workers
- Authorities are trying to regulate the number of foreign workers as Iraq seeks to diversify from the currently dominant hydrocarbons sector
KARBALA: Rami, a Syrian worker in Iraq, spends his 16-hour shifts at a restaurant fearing arrest as authorities crack down on undocumented migrants in the country better known for its own exodus.
He is one of hundreds of thousands of foreigners working without permits in Iraq, which after emerging from decades of conflict has become an unexpected destination for many seeking opportunities.
“I’ve been able to avoid the security forces and checkpoints,” said the 27-year-old, who has lived in Iraq for seven years and asked that AFP use a pseudonym to protect his identity.
Between 10 in the morning and 2:00 am the next day, he toils at a shawarma shop in the holy city of Karbala, where millions of Shiite pilgrims congregate every year.
“My greatest fear is to be expelled back to Syria where I’d have to do military service,” he said.
The labor ministry says the influx is mainly from Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, also citing 40,000 registered immigrant workers.
Now the authorities are trying to regulate the number of foreign workers, as the country seeks to diversify from the currently dominant hydrocarbons sector.
Many like Rami work in the service industry in Iraq.
One Baghdad restaurant owner admitted to AFP that he has to play cat and mouse with the authorities during inspections, asking some employees to make themselves scarce.
Not all those who work for him are registered, he said, because of the costly fees involved.
Some of the undocumented workers in Iraq first came as pilgrims. In July, Labour Minister Ahmed Assadi said his services were investigating information that “50,000 Pakistani visitors” stayed on “to work illegally.”
Despite threats of expulsion because of the scale of issue, the authorities at the end of November launched a scheme for “Syrian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers” to regularise their employment by applying online before December 25.
The ministry says it will take legal action against anyone who brings in or employs undocumented foreign workers.
Rami has decided to play safe, even though “I really want” to acquire legal employment status.
“But I’m afraid,” he said. “I’m waiting to see what my friends do, and then I’ll do the same.”
Current Iraqi law caps the number of foreign workers a company can employ at 50 percent, but the authorities now want to lower this to 30 percent.
“Today we allow in only qualified workers for jobs requiring skills” that are not currently available, labor ministry spokesman Nijm Al-Aqabi told AFP.
It’s a sensitive issue — for the past two decades, even the powerful oil sector has been dominated by a foreign workforce. But now the authorities are seeking to favor Iraqis.
“There are large companies contracted to the government” which have been asked to limit “foreign worker numbers to 30 percent,” said Aqabi.
“This is in the interests of the domestic labor market,” he said, as 1.6 million Iraqis are unemployed.
He recognized that each household has the right to employ a foreign domestic worker, claiming this was work Iraqis did not want to do.
One agency launched in 2021 that brings in domestic workers from Niger, Ghana and Ethiopia confirms the high demand.
“Before we used to bring in 40 women, but now it’s around 100” a year, said an employee at the agency, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
It was a trend picked up from rich countries in the Gulf, the employee said.
“The situation in Iraq is getting better, and with salaries now higher, Iraqi home owners are looking for comfort.”
A domestic worker earns about $230 a month, but the authorities have quintupled the registration fee, with a work permit now costing more than $800.
In the summer, Human Rights Watch denounced what it called a campaign of arbitrary arrests and expulsions targeting Syrians, even those with the necessary paperwork.
HRW said that both homes and work places had been targeted by raids.
Ahmed — another pseudonym — is a 31-year-old Syrian who has been undocumented in Iraq for the past year and a half.
He began as a cook in Baghdad and later moved to Karbala.
“Life is hard here — we don’t have any rights,” he told AFP. “We come in illegally, and the security forces are after us.”
His wife did not accompany him. She stayed in Syria.
“I’d go back if I could,” said Ahmed. “But life there is very difficult. There’s no work.”
Pakistan reiterates ‘unwavering’ support for Palestinians’ right to self-determination
- The statement comes on International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People that aims to grant sovereignty to Palestinians
- PM Shehbaz Sharif calls on international community to act ‘decisively’ to impose immediate halt to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reiterated his country’s “unwavering” support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, Sharif’s office said, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is a UN-organized observance, with events held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York and its offices in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.
In a statement issued from his office, Sharif said the last one year marked a “deeply disturbing moment” in the history of Palestine in the wake of Israel’s brutal aggression in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
“The Palestinian people have been bravely enduring a campaign of unending genocidal violence with indiscriminate attacks, ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment that constitute a flagrant violation of human dignity, human rights, and international law,” he said.
“On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I reaffirm our complete solidarity with the valiant and resilient Palestinian people. We will continue to stand by you in your just and rightful pursuit of peace, dignity, and right to self-determination.”
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza that has claimed over 43,000 lives, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. The South Asian country has also dispatched several aid consignments for the Palestinians.
Sharif said Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law had crippled the humanitarian response in Gaza, calling on the international community to act “swiftly and decisively” to impose an immediate halt to Israel’s atrocities, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians, hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure.
“The repeated assaults on humanitarian aid convoys and essential services are unconscionable. The failure to hold Israel accountable for these grave war crimes and violations of human rights will perpetuate the impunity, with which Israel has unleashed its destruction in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon,” he said.
“Pakistan further calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and stresses the urgency of ensuring unhindered humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.”
Family calls off weeks-long protest in Balochistan over kidnapping of schoolboy
- Muhammad Musawir Khan, who comes from a family of gold traders, was kidnapped by armed men in Quetta on Nov. 15
- The protest was called off after the Balochistan chief minister met Khan’s relatives and assured them of his safe recovery
QUETTA: The family of an 11-year-old schoolboy, who was kidnapped in Pakistan’s Balochistan province earlier this month, has called off their weeks-long protest in the provincial capital of Quetta, it said on Thursday, following assurances from the provincial administration for a safe recovery of the child.
Muhammad Musawir Khan, a third-grade student, was kidnapped from a school van by unknown armed men while on his way to school in Quetta on November 15. His family says they have not received any ransom call from the kidnappers since his abduction.
Khan’s relatives and other protesters had been staging a sit-in at Quetta’s Unity Square for the last 14 days. On Thursday, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti met the protesters and assured them of setting up a team to recover the kidnapped boy.
“Bugti told us that ‘a joint investigation team has been formed comprising all Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) for the safe recovery of the kidnapped boy’,” Khan’s father, Raz Muhammad, told Arab News, adding that they had called off the protest for ten days.
The kidnapped boy belongs to a prominent tribal family that has been involved in the gold trading business in Balochistan for decades. According to the family, he was abducted from the busy Patel Bagh neighborhood in Quetta.
On Monday, a wheel-jam strike over the kidnapping paralyzed highways in Balochistan, with political and religious party leaders, traders, transporters, lawyers and civil society members visiting the protest camp to express solidarity with the family.
Speaking to the protesters on Thursday, CM Bugti said the kidnapped boy’s family was being regularly updated about the details of investigation.
“The entire province is standing with the family and a safe recovery of Muhammad Musawir Khan is our duty,” he said. “We will not commit any negligence in our duty.”