KARACHI: Pakistanis sacrificed around nine million animals worth $2.5 billion on the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha last week, tanners and leather exporters have said, at least a one-billion-dollar increase from last year.
Eid Al-Adha, the second most important festival of Islam, was observed in Pakistan last Wednesday. Muslims traditionally mark the occasion by sacrificing livestock and distributing the meat among friends, family and the poor.
In Pakistan, the number of sacrificial animals has been on the rise since last year as people have been unable to go to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage due to coronavirus restrictions and have thus offered the ritual sacrifice in their home country.
Last year, the worth of sacrificial animals was estimated to be $1.5 billion.
“We estimate that around eight million to nine million animals including cows, sheep, goats and camels, were slaughtered on this Eid Al-Adha,” Abdul Salam, senior vice-chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), told Arab News. “Large number of Pakistanis who were unable to go for Hajj have offered the sacrifice rituals here in the country ... Sacrifices are more than our estimate of six million to seven million for this year.”
M. Danish Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and exporters Association (PLGMEA), told Arab News Rs400 billion ($2.5 billion) worth of animals were slaughtered this year. No official data was available.
“This growth is due to the restrictions on travel for Hajj,” Khan said.
Former PTA chairman Ejaz Ahmed Sheikh, who is chairman of leather supplier Bombal Leathers, said while exact figures were as yet unavailable, the overall value of sacrificial animals could be even higher than tanners’ estimates.
“It is estimated that around 3-4 million cows were slaughtered this year,” he told Arab News. “So, keeping average price at Rs 100,000, the overall value goes up to Rs300 billion, while if we add the value of goats, sheep, and camels, the value exceeds Rs400 billion.”
The rate of waste has also been higher this year, with data from the Lahore branch of PTA showing that Rs2 billion worth of hides and skins was wasted.
PLGME’s chief Khan said material wastage was an annual problem.
“Huge quantities of hides and skins are wasted every year due to lack of proper facilities required to preserve the material,” he said.
Skins and hides from sacrificial animals are usually collected by Islamic seminaries and welfare organizations which sell them to leather exporters and tanners to meet their financial expenditures.
Qazi Sadaruddin, director at the Al-Khidmat Foundation, a non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian services across Pakistan, told Arab News the collection of skins, as well as their rates, had increased this year.
“The rates are comparatively higher this year and the collection of skins and hides has also increased,” he said.
Eid Al-Adha contributes around 20-30 percent of raw material to Pakistan’s leather industry, which PLGME expects will cross the $1 billion mark this year. In the previous fiscal year 2020-21, the leather sector contributed $833 million to Pakistan’s overall exports of $25.3 billion.
“Despite COVID-19, Pakistan’s export sector has performed very well during the last fiscal year,” PLGME’s Khan said. “We hope that this year Pakistan’s leather exports will hit the $1 billion mark”.
Pakistanis sacrificed animals worth around $2.5 billion on Eid Al-Adha, tanners say
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Pakistanis sacrificed animals worth around $2.5 billion on Eid Al-Adha, tanners say
- Up to 9 million animals including cows, sheep, goats and camels, were slaughtered this Eid
- Number of sacrifices on the rise since last year as people unable to go to Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage
Investment deals on the table as Belarus president to visit Pakistan next week
- Pakistan and Belarus, world’s 74th-largest economy by GDP, celebrated thirty years of diplomatic relations this year
- Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991
ISLAMABAD: The president of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Grigorievich Lukashenko, will be in Islamabad on a three-day official visit from Monday, with several investment deals and memorandums of understanding likely to be discussed, the foreign office said on Thursday.
Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment from allies old and new in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy as it navigates a tough reforms agenda mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“President of the republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, will undertake an official visit to Pakistan from Nov. 25-27,” the foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said at a weekly press briefing. “President Lukashenko will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and discuss the areas of bilateral cooperation,”
Pakistan and Belarus, the world’s 74th-largest economy by GDP, celebrated thirty years of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and maintains an embassy in Minsk.
The prime minister of Belarus was in Islamabad earlier this year where he met his counterpart as well as the chief of the Pakistan army, among other key leaders.
In September, Pakistan and Belarus discussed different options for a joint venture to establish a tractor plant in the country and reached a consensus on collaborating on a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine to protect cattle, as well as on the capacity building of agricultural engineers in machinery design.
They also agreed to enhance cooperation in the sectors of livestock and seeds, and work together on the mechanization of agriculture and on increasing market access for agricultural and livestock products. Belarus also wants to set up a veterinary medicine plant in Pakistan.
The First Pakistan-Belarus Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was held in 2015 in which the two countries agreed to initiate joint ventures in the textile, pharmaceutical and lighting solution industries and share technological expertise.
Pakistan says 30% of its vehicles will be electric by 2030
- Hybrid electric vehicle sales in Pakistan have more than doubled in past year
- Global EV giant BYD Group has obtained manufacturing license in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said on Thursday 30% of vehicles in Pakistan would be converted to electric by 2030, state media widely reported, as the South Asian country takes step to combat air pollution and other climate change effects.
The minister was echoing the government’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy released on Wednesday, which is aimed at transitioning 30 percent of all new vehicles — imported and locally manufactured — to electric power by 2030.
Hybrid electric vehicle sales in Pakistan have more than doubled in the past year. BYD Pakistan, a partnership between China’s BYD and Pakistani car group Mega Motors, said in September up to 50 percent of all vehicles bought in Pakistan by 2030 will be electrified in some form in line with global targets.
Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD announced its entry into Pakistan in August, making the nation of 250 million people one of its newest markets.
“Pakistan aims to convert thirty percent of its vehicles to electric by 2030,” Khan said as he addressed the “Transport and Digital Middle Corridor and Beyond” session at the ongoing UN COP29 summit in Baku.
“Significant steps are underway to support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in Pakistan … the government is actively working on infrastructure development for EVs, including the installation of charging stations.”
Local media reported in August that standards for EV charging stations had been drafted by the power ministry, with the government considering offering them affordable electricity.
Under the new EV policy, the government has introduced subsidies of Rs50,000 for electric motorcycles and Rs200,000 for three-wheelers like rickshaws, with a total allocation of Rs4 billion. These subsidies will be distributed through auctions. So far, two companies have been granted licenses, and 31 more applications are under review.
The policy also incorporates a reduction in the policy rate from 22 to 15 percent, with financing available at a 3 percent Kibor (Karachi Interbank Offered Rate) and the government covering the financial cost. Consumers will pay monthly installments of around Rs9,000 over two years, an amount lower than their projected fuel savings.
A Credit Loss Guarantee managed by the Finance Division will ensure no financial burden on the Ministry of Industries or consumers.
Additional initiatives include offering free electric bikes or scooters to 120 high-achieving students and reducing duties on EV components to encourage local manufacturing. The government is also set to establish a New Energy Fund and a New Energy Vehicle Center to support these measures.
BYD Pakistan is collaborating with two oil marketing companies to establish a charging infrastructure network and aims to establish 20 to 30 charging stations within the initial phases concurrent with the rollout of its cars.
BYD Pakistan will initially sell fully assembled vehicles, which are subject to higher import charges than vehicles shipped in parts and assembled locally. Dewan Motors is also set to launch its EVs under the completely knocked down (CKD) license.
Pakistan voices ‘deep regret’ as US vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire
- 15-member UN council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members
- Only US voted against, using its veto as permanent council member to block resolution
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday expressed “deep regret” over the United States vetoing a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, which has drawn criticism of the Biden administration for once again blocking international action aimed at halting Israel’s war in the besieged enclave.
The 15-member council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the 13-month conflict and separately demanded the release of hostages. Only the US voted against it, using its veto as a permanent council member to block the resolution.
“We deeply regret that even now a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire has been vetoed by the sole negative vote of a permanent member of the Council,” Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, told the state APP news agency.
Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN, said Washington had made clear it would only support a resolution that explicitly called for the immediate release of hostages as part of a ceasefire.
“A durable end to the war must come with the release of the hostages. These two urgent goals are inextricably linked. This resolution abandoned that necessity, and for that reason, the United States could not support it,” he said.
Wood said the US had sought compromise, but the text of the proposed resolution would have sent a “dangerous message” to Hamas that “there’s no need to come back to the negotiating table.”
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 people and displaced nearly all of the enclave’s population at least once. It was launched in response to an attack by Hamas fighters who killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
With inputs from Reuters
Gulf countries have identified $19 billion investment portfolio for Pakistan — planning minister
- Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy
- Rollovers, loans from Saudi Arabia, UAE, China have helped Pakistan meet external financing needs in the past
ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among others, had identified a $19 billion investment portfolio for Pakistan, while China was now entering phase two of a multi-billion-dollar economic corridor project.
Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy as it navigates a tough reforms agenda mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The world, which was viewing Pakistan as a failed economy, is once more looking at Pakistan with hope,” Iqbal said as he addressed a ceremony in Islamabad.
“China is extending its hand in the form of phase two of CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor]. Our friendly nations, Gulf countries, which include Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Azerbaijan, they have together identified a $19 billion portfolio under which they can invest in Pakistan. So, all these opportunities are once again knocking at our door.”
Rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, in addition to financing from the IMF, have helped Pakistan meet its external financing needs in the past.
Last month, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed investment agreements worth $2.8 billion while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged to expedite a $5 billion investment portfolio for Islamabad.
The UAE committed this May it would invest $10 billion in promising economic sectors. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said this week Azerbaijan had pledged to invest $3 billion in multiple sectors of Pakistan’s economy.
Pakistan and the IMF signed a $7 billion loan program in September.
Pakistan’s economy has struggled for decades with boom-and-bust cycles, needing 23 IMF bailouts since 1958.
Two new species of cobia fish found off Gwadar coast in northern Arabian Sea
- New study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Zoologischer Anzeiger
- Research team found species during study of commercially popular black king cobia
ISLAMABAD: Two newly identified species of the cobia fish have been found off Pakistan’s Gwadar coast in the northern Arabian Sea, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Zoologischer Anzeiger, whose latest edition came out this month.
The cobia is a species of marine carangiform ray-finned fish, whose other common names include black kingfish, black salmon, ling, lemonfish, crabeater, prodigal son, codfish, and black bonito.
“This study describes two newly identified species, Rachycentron blochii sp. nov. and Rachycentron makranesis sp. nov. from Gwadar in the northern Arabian Sea,” said the study, authored by Dr. Sher Khan Panhwar and Dr. Imtiaz Kashani, professors at the Center of Excellence in Marine Biology at the University of Karachi.
“The newly discovered species differ significantly from their relatives in multiple morphological traits, such as head profile, mouth, pectoral fin, caudal fin, caudal peduncle, dorsal and anal fin bases, gill rakers, and body coloration.”
The recent finding increases the number of cobia species in the northern Arabian Sea, Pakistan, the study says, presenting information on the species’ biological and ecological aspects such as feeding habits, age assessment, habitat preferences and fishery-related details.
The research was financially supported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan through its National Research Programme for Universities project.
“At first glance, I thought it was another black king cobia but when I looked closer at the markings on its body, I knew it was different,” Dr. Panhwar told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, explaining that he was traveling with students on a routine survey of the Gwadar fish harbor last year when he spotted the new species. The team was there to study the black king cobia or Rachycentron canadum, a commercially popular large fish found around the world.
Fresh specimens weighing between 4 and 7 kg were immediately cooled in dry-ice and packed into ice boxes for transportation to the fisheries laboratory at the University of Karachi, some 650km away from the Gwadar harbor.
Back at the laboratory, Dr. Panhwar and his colleague Dr. Kashani analyzed the unusual cobias, examining their appearance, dissecting them, and comparing them with the typical species.
The two new species have been named the Blotchy Cobia, a nod to the large gray markings found on its body as well as to the Balochi language spoken in the region. The other one will be called Makran Cobia, named after the Makran coast where it was found.
“At this time, these species of cobia have only been spotted in Pakistan,” Panhwar told Dawn.
