ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s commerce chief said the country would have to send a fresh application to the European Union for the renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status as the EU Ambassador to Islamabad said the South Asian nation would have to “redouble” its efforts to meet international rights conventions in order to continue to get trade concessions beyond 2023.
This April, the European Parliament moved a resolution against Pakistan, seeking an immediate review of its eligibility for GSP+ status over what it called violence and discrimination against religious minorities and other vulnerable groups.
The development took place after the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) religious party resorted to violent protests, demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador to Islamabad over anti-Islam cartoons published in France.
The GSP+ is a special trade arrangement offered to developing economies by European nations in return for their commitment to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection and governance. Institutionalized in 1971, the framework removes or reduces import duties on products exported to Europe from low-income countries.
Pakistan is part of a current GSP+ scheme set to end in December 2023.
Speaking to Arab News, the prime minister’s adviser on trade and commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said Pakistan would have to file a fresh application for the new scheme like other beneficiary countries of the GSP scheme.
“Pakistani products … have duty free access in all 27 member states of the European Union since January 1, 2014, until December 31, 2023,” Dawood said, adding that the EU periodically reviewed the commitment of all beneficiary nations with GSP+ status to the signed international conventions.
Dawood said all nations, including Pakistan, would be required to ratify and implement five new international conventions, in addition to the previous 27 international covenants, to benefit from a new program to be adopted by the EU from 2024 to 2036.
The EU office in Islamabad said in a statement Pakistan was the largest beneficiary of the current GSP+ program but the European Commission was continuously monitoring progress made by beneficiary nations like Pakistan in implementing international conventions.
“In the last monitoring reports, some progress has been positively highlighted, while concerns have been raised regarding child labor, torture, media freedom and access to justice, among others,” the statement maintained.
European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara said in a statement last month that Pakistan’s exports to Europe had increased by 60 percent since it was granted GSP+ status in 2014 but “in order to maintain the trade preferences under GSP Plus beyond 2023, Pakistan will have to redouble its efforts to turn the international conventions it signed into reality on the ground.”
“To make the case to be eligible under the new GSP Plus system, Pakistan, like any other potential beneficiary countries,” Kaminara said, “will have to demonstrate tangible progress to convince EU parliamentarians and member state governments.”
Pakistan to send fresh application for GSP+ as EU calls to ‘redouble’ efforts on rights
https://arab.news/2zy95
Pakistan to send fresh application for GSP+ as EU calls to ‘redouble’ efforts on rights
- Pakistan will have to demonstrate tangible progress on meeting international conventions, EU ambassador says
- Under the preferential trade framework, Pakistani products have duty free access to all 27 European Union member states
PM hails Pakistan for ‘unstoppable, unbeatable’ performance in South Africa ODI series
- Green Shirts thrashed South Africa 3-0 after losing Twenty20 series 2-0
- Pakistan will now play three Tests against South Africa later this month
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised the Pakistan cricket team for winning a three-match One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, describing their performance as “unstoppable and unbeatable.”
The Green Shirts completed a series clean sweep over South Africa in the third ODI at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, with rising star Saim Ayub smashing his second century of the series and his third from five innings.
The left-handed opening batsman made a sparkling 101 off 94 balls in a Pakistan total of 308 for nine. Heinrich Klaasen thrashed 81 off 43 balls for South Africa, but the hosts were beaten by 36 runs chasing an adjusted target of 308 because of rain.
“Unstoppable and unbeatable!” Sharif remarked in a post on X. “Congratulations to Team Pakistan on an outstanding 3-0 ODI series victory against South Africa.”
The prime minister also praised the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman for the team’s performance.
“Well done, boys! Your determination, skill, and teamwork under the leadership of the PCB Chairman Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi have made the entire nation proud,” he said.
“Keep raising the green flag high!“
South Africa won the T20I series 2-0 after the third match was washed out on Dec. 14. The ODI series win comes ahead of the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy, which Pakistan will hosting in February and March 2025.
Pakistan will also play three Tests against South Africa later this month.
Government, Imran Khan’s party conclude first round of formal talks, next session on Jan. 2
- Negotiations began after Khan threatened civil disobedience, seeking release of political prisoners
- PTI has been asked to present its demands in the next session to set the tone for the negotiations
ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan held the first round of formal negotiations on Monday to address a range of issues, with PTI asked to present its demands in writing at the next session on January 2.
The two sides began long-awaited talks to resolve issues fueling political polarization and straining the country’s fragile economy, with National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq chairing the meeting, after the government formed a negotiating team a day earlier.
The development came after ex-premier Khan’s threat to launch civil disobedience by urging overseas Pakistanis, his party’s key support base, to halt remittances if his demands, including the release of political prisoners, were not met by Dec. 22. Khan, who has been imprisoned for over a year on charges he claims are politically motivated, has also called for judicial commissions to investigate violent protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 26 this year, which the government says involved his party supporters.
Known for taking hard-line political positions, Khan formed a seven-member committee to negotiate with the government. This was done amid growing concerns he may face trial by the military for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during violent protests following his brief detention last year in a graft case.
“Since some members of the opposition could not join the talks today, we have decided to hold the next meeting on January 2,” Sadiq said at the end of the initial round of negotiations. “The opposition will also present a charter of demands in the meeting.”
He said the talks were held in a cordial environment, adding that it was vital to end political polarization in parliament and across the country.
The speaker requested Senator Irfan Siddiqui to read a joint press statement and urged people not to speculate excessively about the negotiations to ensure their success.
Siddiqui said both sides agreed parliament was the appropriate forum to resolve political differences and emphasized that the negotiation process should continue.
He mentioned the PTI had been asked to provide a written document outlining its demands to help set the tone for the talks.
Speaking to the media later, Khan’s close aide, Asad Qaiser, said the PTI team asked the government to release all political prisoners, including the former prime minister, and form a judicial commission with senior Supreme Court judges to probe the May 9 and Nov. 26 incidents.
“We should be allowed to hold a meeting with Imran Khan,” he said. “He is our leader. We will move forward with his instructions.”
Qaiser informed the government had said it would arrange the meeting, though he maintained it was not clear when would that happen.
The negotiations came days after Pakistan’s military announced prison sentences for 25 people involved in the May 9, 2023, protests, which PTI has demanded be investigated. The military said it had gathered “irrefutable evidence” against those prosecuted and reiterated its commitment to bringing the planners of the violence to justice.
The country has remained gripped by political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power through a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which has also exacerbated Pakistan’s economic hardships.
Senior government representatives have previously acknowledged that negotiations could offer a pathway out of the current political impasse. However, they have cautioned that it is too early to determine which of PTI’s demands might be addressed.
Ancient winter festival in Pakistan’s Chitral concludes with rituals, traditional dance
- Chawmos festival is celebrated in December by the Kalash people, who are numbered around 4,000
- Festival marks welcoming of new year, celebrated with dance, animal sacrifice, singing and feasting
PESHAWAR: A religious winter festival celebrated by the Kalash people in the northwestern Pakistani district of Chitral has concluded after featuring rituals, traditional dance and other festivities for two weeks, provincial tourism authority said on Monday.
The Kalash are a group of about 4,000 people, possibly Pakistan’s smallest minority, who live in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, where they practice an ancient polytheistic faith.
They come together each year in December to celebrate the two-week Chawmos festival after the community finishes fieldwork and stores cheese, fruit, vegetables and grains for the year.
The festival features various rituals, animal sacrifice, dance, songs and feasting, preserving the Kalash culture and attracting a number of tourists to Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The religious Chawmos festival of the ancient Kalash Valley has concluded,” Mohammad Saad, a spokesperson for the KP Tourism Authority, said in a statement.
“The festival continued from Dec. 8 in the three valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.”
The Kalash community’s religion incorporates animiztic traditions of worshipping nature as well as a pantheon of gods, and its people live mainly in the three Kalash valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.
The Chawmos festival is celebrated to welcome the new year, with the Kalash people indulging in religious practices and distributing vegetables and fruit among each other, according to the official.
The festival was attended by a large number of domestic and foreign tourists who were fully facilitated by the provincial tourism authority.
Pakistan defense minister blames judiciary for delayed verdicts in May 9 cases
- National problems require decisions at the earliest, says Khawaja Asif while talking to media in London
- Protests erupted in several Pakistani cities on May 9, 2023, over ex-PM Imran Khan’s arrest in a graft case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday blamed the judiciary for delaying verdicts in the May 9, 2023, cases, which have so far led to the conviction of 25 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for attacking government buildings and military properties last year.
On Dec. 21, the Pakistan Army sentenced 25 people for participating in the violent protests that erupted in several Pakistani cities following Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges, resulting in damage to major military facilities and martyrs’ monuments in the country.
However, several suspects are also facing legal charges in anti-terrorism courts, with the military hoping for early verdicts in their cases, according to a statement announcing the sentencing of the 25 individuals, which described the rioting as “politically provoked violence.”
The PTI has denied any involvement in the violence, describing the May 9 incident as a “false flag” operation aimed at crushing the party.
“The judiciary created the biggest hurdle in this [the conviction of May 9 suspects] while this thing was allowed to linger for one and a half years,” Asif said while speaking to the media in London, the city he is currently visiting.
Describing the May 9 protests as a national problem, he said all the cases related to it required verdicts at the earliest.
The conviction of the 25 individuals followed a ruling by a seven-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Dec. 13, allowing military courts to share their verdicts. Prior to that, the court had unanimously declared last year that prosecuting civilians in military courts violated the Constitution.
Khan’s PTI party rejected the military’s announcement, with opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan saying they were “against the principles of justice.”
The sentencing of the 25 individuals also raises concerns about Khan, who faces charges of inciting attacks against the armed forces and may potentially be tried in a military court.
Earlier, Asif had regretted the delay in announcing the verdicts, saying that it “raised the morale of the accused and their facilitators.”
“Right now, only the workers, who were used [to generate violence], have been punished under the law,” he had said. “This will not end until the ones, who planned this terrible day, are not brought before the law.”
Pakistan PM reviews security situation amid rising militancy, sectarian clashes
- PM Sharif was briefed by Mohsin Naqvi who recently attended a security meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Security remained a concern for Pakistan this year, which witnessed renewed attacks on Chinese nationals
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif evaluated the security situation during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday, focusing on measures taken by the authorities to ensure peace across the country.
The talks come days after Naqvi attended a high-level security meeting in the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has seen a surge in cross-border militant attacks.
The region’s Kurram district has been gripped by sectarian clashes since last month, leaving well over 100 people dead, according to local reports.
During the meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Naqvi and other stakeholders decided to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies with the federal government’s full cooperation to combat mounting security challenges.
Pakistan has also faced unrest in its southwestern province of Balochistan, where separatist attacks intensified throughout the year.
“Federal Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi provided a detailed briefing to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the overall security situation in the country,” the statement from the PM Office said. “The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the measures taken to ensure law and order in the country.”
The meeting also included discussions on the country’s political situation, the statement added.
Security remained a major concern for the government this year, which witnessed renewed attacks on Chinese workers, including five fatalities when their convoy was targeted by an explosive-laden vehicle near Besham city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Later in October, two Chinese engineers lost their lives in a blast near Karachi airport.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, vowed to hunt down militants and their facilitators, following a deadly attack on a military outpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that left 16 soldiers dead.
