KARACHI: In a significant drug bust, Pakistan’s customs department announced on Sunday it had seized a crystal meth consignment valued at nearly Rs230 million ($794,850) after it originated from Afghanistan and was rerouted to Karachi from Bahrain where it remained unattended for several days.
Concealed in dried fruit baskets, the drugs were part of a shipment moved by a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, who dispatched it to a man named Gulbaz Khan in Bahrain.
When no one received the package at the designated address in the Gulf country, it was returned to Afghanistan via Karachi by the postal authorities, according to the customs officials.
“Since no one received the shipment at the provided address in Bahrain, it was sent back through Karachi,” Syed Irfan Ali, the customs department spokesperson, told Arab News. “It is suspected that by deliberately providing an incorrect address in Bahrain, the sender intended for these drugs to be diverted to Pakistan for potential distribution in Karachi.”
Earlier, an official handout said the customs team inspected the parcel at the Pakistan Post Office on I.I. Chundrigar Road after receiving a tip-off and uncovered the skillfully concealed shipment of high-quality crystal meth weighing about five kilograms.
The discovery prompted the suspension of all transit cargo parcels for inspection by special teams of the Drug Enforcement Cell. As a result, an additional 9.4 kilograms of the same substance was also seized, bringing the total amount recovered during the operation to 14.4 kilograms.
The estimated street value of these narcotics, according to customs officials, is Rs234 million.
A police report has now been registered under the country’s Narcotics Act, and further investigations are underway.
The customs department is also actively making efforts to apprehend people responsible for the illegal shipment, the official statement revealed.
In major drug bust, Pakistan Customs seizes Rs230 million of crystal meth rerouted from Bahrain
https://arab.news/55zyk
In major drug bust, Pakistan Customs seizes Rs230 million of crystal meth rerouted from Bahrain
- The consignment originated from Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif but was not received at the designated Bahrain address
- Pakistani officials suspect deliberate misdirection of the package, saying Karachi might have been its actual destination
Muqeem stars as Pakistan crush Zimbabwe to win T20 series
- The 25-year-old took five consecutive wickets for the loss of only three runs
- Zimbabwe crumbled to 57 all out in 12.4 overs after making a promising start
BULAWAYO: Pakistan wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem starred in a series-clinching 10-wicket Twenty20 international rout of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old took five consecutive wickets for the loss of only three runs as Zimbabwe crumbled to 57 all out in 12.4 overs after making a promising start.
Pakistan then sped to 61-0 off 33 balls through Saim Ayub (36) and Omair Yousuf (22) to follow up a 57-run victory last Sunday in the first of three matches.
Victory completed a white-ball double for the tourists, who won a one-day international series 2-1 last week.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha said: “Losing the toss did not concern us because we had plans and executed them really well. The bowling of Sufiyan was outstanding.
“We have a young side full of quality players and the way they are performing is very heartening for me.”
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza admitted his team were “all hurting and in a pretty bad place at the moment.
“My biggest concern is whether we are learning our lessons when we suffer defeats because we seem to be making the same mistakes match after match.”
Zimbabwe openers Brian Bennett (21) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (16) — the only batters to reach double figures — built a 37-run partnership in four overs.
Then, both fell within five balls, and the home team lost their 10 wickets for just 20 runs as Muqeem wreaked havoc.
Marumani was caught by Tayyab Tahir at cover point and Bennett by Irfan Khan at deep square leg at the Queens Sports Club.
All-rounder Raza, often the batting savior for Zimbabwe, made just three before his off stump was uprooted by Abbas Afridi.
Raza was among four bowlers who had no success trying to contain Ayub and Yousuf. The openers struck 10 boundaries, including a six each, between them.
A four from Ayub past backward point sealed victory.
Pakistan complete the T20 series against Zimbabwe on Thursday. They then travel to South Africa for an eight-match all-formats tour, including two Tests.
BBC names Pakistan's Mahrang Baloch, Hadiqa Kiani among 100 most inspiring women in 2024
- Baloch, a medical doctor and activist, has led several demonstrations against alleged enforced disappearances in Pakistan
- In response to the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan, Kiani launched her Vaseela-e-Raah project to aid flood-affectees
ISLAMABAD: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Tuesday named two Pakistanis, Mahrang Baloch and Hadiqa Kiani, among a list of 100 most inspiring and influential women in 2024.
Women have had to dig deep and find new levels of resilience from facing deadly conflicts and humanitarian crises in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan, to witnessing the polarisation in societies that followed a record number of elections around the world, according to the broadcaster.
'BBC 100 Women' acknowledged the toll this year took on women by celebrating those who pushed for change as the world changed around them. The list also remained committed to exploring the impact of the climate emergency, highlighting climate pioneers who worked to help their communities tackle its impacts.
Baloch, a Pakistani medical doctor and political activist, was among hundreds of women across Pakistan taking part in demonstrations against alleged enforced disappearances in the southwestern Balochistan province. In late 2023, she led a 1,600-kilometer march to Islamabad to demand information on whereabouts of their family members, and was twice arrested during the journey.
"The medical doctor has since then become a prominent activist, under the banner of her own human rights group Baloch Yakjehti (Unity) Committee," the BBC wrote. "Her work in the field of human rights was recognised in the TIME100 Next 2024 list of emerging leaders."
Protesters from Pakistan's most impoverished Balochistan province, which has been the scene of a long-running insurgency, say their loved ones have been taken and killed by Pakistani security forces, amid a counterinsurgency operation. The authorities deny the accusations.
Pakistani singer and songwriter Kiani, known for her contributions to humanitarian causes, was the other Pakistani on the list. Rising to fame in the 1990s, she became a celebrated force in South Asian female pop music as well as a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) goodwill ambassador.
"In response to the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan, Kiani launched her Vaseela-e-Raah project, dedicated to aiding victims in the regions of Balochistan and South Punjab," the broadcaster said.
"She urged the public to assist displaced families and last year, the project announced it had built 370 homes and other facilities in the affected areas."
The BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world also included stranded astronaut Sunita Williams, rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot, actress Sharon Stone, Olympic athletes Rebeca Andrade and Allyson Felix, singer Raye, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, visual artist Tracey Emin, climate campaigner Adenike Oladosu and writer Cristina Rivera Garza.
Pakistan stocks rally continues as market crosses record 104,000 points
- The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,284 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 104,559 points on Tuesday
- The development came amid slowing annual inflation, narrowing trade deficit and increasing exports
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday continued its momentum and surged by more than 1,000 points to close at another record high, with stock analysts attributing it to upbeat economic data and a possible policy rate cut.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,284 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 104,559 points on Tuesday afternoon, compared to the previous day close of 103,274 points.
The development came as Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 4.9 percent in November, amid a narrowing trade deficit and increasing exports.
“Upbeat data on $8.65 billion trade deficit narrowing by 7.4 percent, and $13.69bn exports, up by 12.57 percent, for Jul-Nov 2024 played a catalyst role in record surge at PSX,” Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer (CEO) of Arif Habib Corporation, told Arab News.
Consumer inflation cooled from 7.2 percent in October, a sharp drop from a multi-decade high of nearly 40 percent in May 2023. The South Asian country also slashed interest rates by 250 basis points earlier in November to help revive a sluggish economy amid a big drop in the rate of inflation.
Mehanti said the bullish trend was led by scrips across the board as investors eyed big policy rate cut next week.
The PSX breached the 100,000-mark for the first time ever on November 28 to close at 100,082 points.
Pakistan deputy PM calls for greater economic cooperation among ECO nations at Iran summit
- The ECO is an intergovernmental organization that promotes economic, technical and cultural cooperation among members
- Deputy PM Ishaq Dar expressed concern over significantly lower ECO intra-regional trade than other regional groupings
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, on Tuesday called for greater collaboration among Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states as he addressed a summit of the ECO Council of Foreign Ministers in Iran.
The ECO is a political and economic intergovernmental organization that promotes economic, technical, and cultural cooperation among member states. Founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkiye, the ECO aimed to succeed the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), which existed from 1964 to 1979.
The ECO’s objectives include contributing to the development of member states, removing trade barriers within the ECO region, developing intra-regional trade, promoting the ECO region’s integration with global markets and strengthening cultural and historical ties among member states.
Addressing the ECO summit in Mashhad, Dar said this year’s theme, “Enhanced and Resilient ECO Region Through Expansion of Intra-Regional Trade,” was a guiding principle for all that the progress and prosperity of the ECO region “hinges upon expansion of intra-regional trade.”
“It is a matter of great concern that the ECO region, comprising an area of 8 million square kilometers and half a billion population, roughly 15 percent of the world population, has intra-regional trade of unfortunately less than 8 percent of region’s aggregate and only 2 percent of the global trade,” he said.
“[This] is in stark contrast to other regional groupings such as EU [European Union], wherein the intra-regional trade stands about 70 percent and ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], which is around 23 percent.”
During the summit, Dar signed the ECO charter on clean energy to enhance regional cooperation for transition to sustainable energy, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
“The charter is a flagship initiative of ECO in the energy sector which will focus on research & development for innovative renewable clean energy sources to combat climate change [and] play a bridging role in enhancing regional cooperation for smooth transition to sustainable energy,” it said in a statement.
The ECO clean energy charter would contribute to the global network of regional sustainable energy centers under the framework of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
Dar also held a bilateral meeting with Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
“During the meeting, they exchanged views on areas of mutual interest and the latest regional and global developments,” Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency reported. “Both countries agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in all spheres.”
The meeting came weeks after Araghchi’s visit to Islamabad to hold consultations with Pakistani leaders on the Middle East situation following Israel’s invasion of Gaza and Lebanon, and to discuss bilateral ties.
Separately, the Pakistani deputy PM held meetings with ECO Secretary General Dr. Asad Majeed and Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu to discuss the latest regional and global developments, and to boost inter-regional connectivity and trade cooperation among ECO members.
Pakistan denies ‘hiccups’ in IMF program, reaffirms commitment to reforms agenda
- Statement comes on the heels of local media report that there were “hiccups” in the implementation of IMF program
- IMF is pushing Pakistan to continue prudent fiscal and monetary policies, mobilize revenue from untapped tax bases
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance ministry on Tuesday denied any “hiccups” in the implementation of a $7 billion IMF bailout program, saying it was progressing “smoothly” and the country was committed to a macroeconomics reforms agenda attached to the loan.
The finance ministry statement came a day after a major Pakistani newspaper, the Express Tribune, reported that Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had said in a briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that there were “hiccups” in the implementation of the IMF program.
The bailout is attached to tough economic reforms, including prudent fiscal and monetary policies, and mobilizing revenue from untapped tax bases.
Pakistan’s $350 billion economy has struggled for decades with boom-and-bust cycles, needing 23 IMF bailouts since 1958.
“The IMF program is proceeding smoothly, with no disruptions, as the government of Pakistan remains fully committed to meeting all the conditionalities and ensuring the successful completion of the 37-month program in close coordination with the IMF staff,” the finance ministry statement said, adding that Aurangzeb had “consistently emphasized upon the government’s continued commitment to macroeconomic reforms.”
Referring to the local media report on the recent briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, the ministry said Aurangzeb had reiterated there that adhering to the IMF program was critical for achieving lasting macroeconomic stability.
“Any speculation regarding “hiccups” in the program’s implementation is based on one’s subjective interpretations and lacks credible evidence,” the finance ministry added.
“The government remains focused on maintaining economic stability and fulfilling all obligations under the IMF program with diligence and transparency, aiming to lay the foundation for stronger, sustainable, and inclusive growth.”
The IMF, which approved the new bailout in September, has said the program will require “sound policies and reforms” to strengthen macroeconomic stability and address structural challenges alongside “continued strong financial support from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”
The IMF said in its statement on approving the loan that Pakistan had taken key steps to restore economic stability with consistent policy implementation under the 2023-24 standby arrangement.
It added that growth had rebounded to 2.4 percent and inflation has receded significantly, falling to single digits, amid appropriately tight fiscal and monetary policies.
A contained current account and calm foreign exchange market conditions have allowed the rebuilding of reserve buffers, and the central bank of Pakistan has been able to reduce interest rates by 700 bps since June in four consecutive cuts.
Despite this progress, Pakistan’s vulnerabilities and structural challenges remain formidable and the tax base remains too narrow.
The South Asian country is the IMF’s fifth-largest debtor, owing the Fund $6.28 billion as of July 11, according to the lender’s data.
