ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (APFVEA) said on Sunday that Pakistan might not meet its target of exporting 100,000 metric tons of mangoes this year due to adverse effects of climate change on its production, with officials pinning their hopes on a surge in demand from the Middle East.
Pakistan is the world’s fourth-largest mango producer and the fruit export generates millions of dollars in revenue annually, according to the APFVEA. Additionally, mangoes serve as a cultural symbol and a diplomatic tool that help the government strengthen international connections.
Pakistan has faced mango export challenges in recent years due to adverse weather, and pest and fruit fly infestation, with production declining for the third consecutive year in 2024.
The country produces around 1,800,000 metric tons of mangoes annually, with 70 percent grown in Punjab, 29 percent in Sindh and one percent grown in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“We had set a target of exporting 100,000 metric tons of mangoes this season, but it seems unachievable due to the pronounced negative impact of climate change on Pakistan’s mango orchards resulting in less production and a lack of export-quality mangoes,” Muhammad Shehzad Sheikh, the APFVEA chairman, told Arab News.
Due to the weather this year, he said, mango production was down by up to 40 percent in Punjab and 20 percent in Sindh, reducing the overall production by around 600,000 metric tons.
He said the APFVEA reduced this year’s target because it could not achieve the export target of 125,000 metric tons last year and exported only 100,000 metric tons of mangoes in 2023.
“With the export of 100,000 metric tons of mangoes during the current season, if achieved, a valuable foreign exchange of $90 million would be generated,” Sheikh said.
Expressing grave concerns, the APFVEA chairman said the effects of climate change on fruit cultivation, particularly mangoes, as well as on the larger agricultural sector were intensifying with each passing year.
“Extended winters, heavy rains, hailstorms and subsequent severe heatwaves have altered disease patterns throughout the seasons,” he explained, stressing an urgent need for research-based solutions to mitigate these effects and warning that failure to promptly do so could further jeopardize mango production and exports.
Besides climate change, the sector faces challenges like increased withholding tax and higher costs of electricity, gas, transportation, garden maintenance, pesticides and water management, which make it difficult to compete with other exporters, according to Sheikh.
On the contrary, officials said that despite production delays caused by climate change, there had been a surge in demand for Pakistani mangoes, particularly in the Middle East, that would not only make it possible to achieve the export target, but the country was also expected to exceed it.
“While the final figures will be clear by the end of the season in September, we expect around a 20 percent increase compared to last year,” Rashid Gillani, a deputy manager at the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), told Arab News. “Our target is to exceed $120 million worth of [overall] mango exports.”
Last year, around 50 percent of all Pakistani mango exports went to the Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Iran, according to the APFVEA.
Gillani said operations were now running smoothly despite production delays and more fruit was ready to be shipped, noting that TDAP had organized several mango festivals in different countries with the assistance of Pakistani missions to increase the export of the fruit.
On Saturday, the Pakistani embassy in the UAE organized a mango festival event at the Pakistan Association Dubai, in collaboration with the Pakistan Business Council. The event was attended by diplomats, foreign dignitaries, community members and government officials.
Speaking to Arab News, Ali Zeb, commercial counselor at the Pakistani embassy, said the demand for Pakistani mangoes had been steadily increasing in the Emirates and it was expected to further enhance this year, following a positive response from visitors at the Dubai festival.
“In 2022, Pakistani mango exports to the UAE totaled 41,000 metric tons, valued at $27 million, marking a 16 percent increase from the previous year,” he said. “In 2023, exports grew to approximately 50,000 metric tons, worth $31 million.”
This upward trend in mango exports to the UAE was likely to continue this year as well, Zeb added.
As climate change threatens Pakistan mango exports, surge in Middle East demand offers some hope
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As climate change threatens Pakistan mango exports, surge in Middle East demand offers some hope
- Pakistan is the world’s fourth-largest mango producer and its export generates millions of dollars in revenue, according to exporters
- Additionally, mangoes serve as a cultural symbol and a diplomatic tool that help the government strengthen international connections
Pakistan to face touring England in three-Test series as visitors target hosts’ losing streak
- England’s 3-0 whitewash on their 2022 Pakistan trip was the first clean sweep by any visiting team to the country
- England will begin the series without talismanic leader Ben Stokes, who will miss the first Test due to hamstring
MULTAN: Pakistan play England in a three-Test series starting Monday in Multan with the visitors favorites to inflict more damage on a team mired in a painful losing streak.
England’s 3-0 whitewash on their last trip to Pakistan in 2022 was the first clean sweep by any visiting team to the country, and plunged the hosts into a slump that has left them winless in their last 10 home Tests.
The visitors will be buoyed by memories of that famous win, but begin the series without talismanic leader Ben Stokes, who will miss the first Test due to a hamstring injury.
While England sit in third place in the ICC Test rankings, five spots above Pakistan, they travel to South Asia with an inexperienced pace attack following the retirement of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Pakistan, meanwhile, are known for their unpredictability and will be desperate to wipe away the humiliation of a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of low-ranked Bangladesh last month.
Captain Shan Masood, whose tenure has been marked by a run of five consecutive defeats, said his players were motivated to prove themselves.
“We took steps in the right direction in Australia despite losing, but we could not take them forward in the Bangladesh series,” Masood said this week.
“We are eager to stage a comeback in this important series.”
Pakistan cricket is flailing in all formats, with a revolving door of bosses and allegations of nepotism crushing the development of the nation’s most popular sport.
Superstar batsman Babar Azam relinquished the white-ball captaincy this week, saying he wanted to focus on his batting after a run-drought of 16 Test innings without a half-century.
The three Tests in Multan and Rawalpindi scheduled to wrap up on October 28 will be the first trial of the 29-year-old’s renewed commitment to his craft.
“We all know how good a player he is,” said Masood. “The good thing is that he is not out of form, and we can hope he is just one innings away from producing his best.”
While all eyes are on Azam to score big, Pakistan will hope pace spearheads Shaheen Shah Afridi -- who missed the 2022 Test with a knee injury -- and Naseem Shah can crack England’s robust batting order.
“We have told our fast bowlers that they are very important in taking 20 wickets,” said Masood.
Stokes will miss the first Test as he struggles to recover from a hamstring injury inflicted while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on August 11.
There are doubts over his return for the second match starting October 15, but England’s record has remained strong in his absence.
Top-order batter Ollie Pope led them to a 3-0 whitewash of the West Indies and a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka.
Two years ago, it was England’s batting that set the tone for the 3-0 victory on the very first day of the series, smashing 506-4 to set a new record for an opening day total in Tests.
Top batter Joe Root will also be eyeing the record books, needing just 71 runs to best Alastair Cook’s tally of 12,472, the most by any England batter.
Even without Stokes, England will have five pace bowlers led by fast-rising Gus Atkinson who has taken an impressive 34 wickets since his debut earlier this year. But the quintet will all be bowling for the first time in Pakistani conditions.
Experienced Jack Leach heads the spin attack, accompanied by Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed.
Harry Brook led the way with three hundreds in the 2022 series while Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Pope also feasted on slow and flat tracks.
“I know that Shan Masood has been asking for quicker, more lively wickets for their fast bowlers. Obviously last time we were there they were slow, dry and spun a bit,” Stokes said before arrival.
“So, we’ve got to go there with an open mind about what we’re going to get.”
Pakistani court bans ‘unlawful protests’ in Islamabad ahead of SCO summit
- Islamabad High Court says there should be no lockdown situation in the capital during the period of the summit
- Court order comes in response to a petition by local businessmen who complained about Islamabad’s situation
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court issued a brief order in response to a petition on Saturday, saying no “unlawful protest” could be held in Islamabad during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
Pakistan will host the SCO conference in the federal capital on October 15 and 16, with several high-profile foreign dignitaries expected to participate from various regional countries. The government has already deployed the army in Islamabad, whose top officials will oversee the city’s security until October 17.
The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has also imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to prevent large gatherings, though former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has ignored the legal provision while attempting to hold a protest near the parliament building.
“The respondents shall ensure that no unlawful protest is held in ICT that creates situation of lockdown or disrupt peace in ICT during the period of SCO Summit,” Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamir Farooq said in his written order.
The petition was filed by local businessmen who said life had come to a standstill in the federal capital, with the PTI trying to protest in the city and the government using shipping containers to block the roads in a bid to prevent the demonstration from taking place.
The court also observed in its order that people could not even access the airport or medical facilities under the circumstances.
Justice Farooq noted the Section 144 had already been imposed in the city, though he asked the Islamabad administration to allocated a place where the PTI could hold its protest.
The PTI has tried to hold the protest for the release of its founding leader, Imran Khan, at the D-Chowk in Islamabad which is located right next to some of the most sensitive government installations in the city.
The ruling administration has also accused the party of resorting to violence against police, adding that its supporters want to sabotage the SCO summit.
Indian minister Jaishankar rules out bilateral talks with Pakistan during SCO summit
- Pakistan had originally invited Narendra Modi along with other international leaders to the summit
- Jaishankar says the Indian PM typically attends such high-level meetings, but it sometimes changes
ISLAMABAD: India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday he would not hold bilateral talks with Pakistan during his upcoming visit to Islamabad this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.
His statement came only a day after the authorities in New Delhi announced his visit to Pakistan amid frosty relations between the two states to participate in the multilateral forum.
Pakistan had originally extended the invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other international leaders to attend the summit that will be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16.
Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan will be the first by a high-ranking Indian minister in nearly a decade. The last one was Sushma Swaraj, who traveled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.
“It (visit) will be for a multilateral event,” India Today quoted him as saying. “I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO.”
The Indian minister said Modi typically attended such high-level meetings involving heads of state, adding that the norm sometimes changes.
Relations between India and Pakistan hit a major low in 2019 when New Delhi revoked Article 370, which granted special autonomy to Muslim-majority state of Kashmir.
The South Asian neighbors have fought three wars, including two over control of the disputed Kashmir region in the Himalayas. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of aiding and abetting Islamist militants fighting Indian rule in the region, a charge Pakistan denies.
Last year in May, Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited India to attend an SCO meeting in Goa.
While Bhutto-Zardari did not meet any Indian leaders, he and Jaishankar used the forum to trade blame for their strained relations.
With input from Reuters.
Government accuses KP chief minister of ‘attacking’ Islamabad amid conflicting reports of his arrest
Government accuses KP chief minister of ‘attacking’ Islamabad amid conflicting reports of his arrest
- The development comes after the federal authorities held Ali Amin Gandapur responsible for violent protests
- Interior minister says those who planned the ‘assault’ on the capital, including Gandapur, will face strict action
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of spearheading a violent protest that injured dozens of police in an “attack” on Islamabad on Saturday, shortly after paramilitary Rangers stormed the province’s administration office in the capital, leading to claims of Gandapur’s arrest.
Gandapur, a close aide of former prime minister Imran Khan, was leading a protest caravan to Islamabad that clashed with the police on various places while trying to join a demonstration planned by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party near the parliament building.
The PTI had announced a protest against proposed constitutional amendments that it claims are aimed at curtailing the independence of the judiciary, with the government repudiating the charge. The party has also been trying to mobilize supporters through protests and public gatherings to pressure the government for the release of Khan, who has been in prison since August last year and faces a slew of legal challenges.
“Islamabad was attacked under the leadership of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur,” Naqvi said during a media interaction in the federal capital, as he reiterated that the PTI wanted to create a situation where the government could not hold the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit scheduled to be held on October 15 and 16.
“The aim of these protesters was to sit here till October 17 and hold the procession,” he added. “They aimed to stop [international] delegations from coming to Islamabad.”
The minister maintained the PTI wanted violence and “dead bodies” to extract political mileage from the situation.
“Strict action will be initiated against the planners of this assault,” he said, adding that this also included the KP chief minister.
However, he did not respond to a question about Gandapur’s whereabouts.
Earlier, the PTI said in a social media post that Rangers had “forcefully entered KP House” and arrested a sitting chief minister of a province, prompting the state-own Pakistan Television (PTV) to deny “rumors” of Gandapur’s arrest which it said were “baseless.”
PTV quoted official sources, as local media channels widely aired videos of heavy deployment of law enforcement and paramilitary personnel at the KP House in Islamabad.
Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, a top PTI leader and close aide of ex-PM Khan, said in a social media post that Gandapur was “being held hostage in exchange for calling off the protest.” However, he added the party would not stop demonstrating against the government.
However, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, KP’s spokesperson, said no one had any contact with the chief minister after initially announcing on X, formerly Twitter, that Gandapur was “under siege.”
Naqvi had also blamed the KP chief minister for leading a “horde” to Islamabad.
“The responsibility for this [protest] definitely lies with the [PTI] leadership [Imran Khan] from where these instructions came,” he told the media. “After that, if someone is practically implementing them, it is the CM KPK [Gandapur] who is responsible. The CM KPK is responsible for the [current] situation since he is leading the horde that is marching on Islamabad.”
“I will say it to them once again that if they cross any more lines, it will force us to take extreme steps,” he added.
The minister also said the police had arrested 41 Afghan nationals during the clashes with the PTI and apprehended 120 Afghan citizens in the last 48 hours.
He maintained the PTI protesters had fired upon police personnel on their way to Islamabad and injured about 85 of them during clashes.
Naqvi said later in the day the government would clear the city of all the protesters and make life easier for the residents of Islamabad.
Cops injured, mobile phone services suspended in Islamabad as ex-PM Khan party moves ahead with protest plan
- Khan’s PTI has announced protests in Islamabad, Lahore and all other districts across Punjab province on Saturday
- Interior minister says nearly 80 policemen injured in firing incidents, 120 Afghans arrested in the last 48 hours
ISLAMABAD: Around 80 policemen have been injured as mobile phone services remained suspended and all roads leading to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad were blocked for a second consecutive day on Saturday amid a protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi ruling out any talks with the protesters.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been holding protests across several Pakistani cities on Saturday against proposed constitutional amendments that it claims are aimed at curtailing the independence of the judiciary, a charge the government denies. The Pakistani opposition party is also trying to mobilize supporters through protests and large public gatherings to put pressure for the release of Khan, who has been in prison since August last year and faces a slew of legal challenges.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad on Saturday, Naqvi said the protesters had fired upon police personnel on their way to Islamabad from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and injured 80-85 police, reiterating that the motive behind the PTI’s protest was to sabotage a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Government that is scheduled to take place in the Pakistani capital on October 15 and 16. He blamed KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for the violence.
“We will not allow the SCO conference to be sabotaged in any case. We have an idea what exactly is their motive and how they plan to do all this,” Naqvi told reporters. “CM KPK is responsible for all this situation, because he is marching on Islamabad together with this horde, CM KPK is leading it.”
The interior minister said at least 120 Afghan nationals, who were part of the protest, had been arrested in the last 48 hours.
“Police was fired upon in Pathar Garh, where we had set up a blockade and from where CM KPK has moved ahead now, and they were constantly tear-gassing the police,” he said, warning the opposition party of not to force the government “to go to extreme steps.”
The PTI initially announced a protest at Islamabad’s D-Chowk square on Friday, but caravans of its supporters led by Gandapur failed to reach the capital the same day due to blockades of all roads and highways leading to Islamabad. Clashes erupted in Islamabad and nearby areas on Friday evening as Khan supporters tried to march toward the venue of the protest but were stopped by the police.
“CM KP Ali Amin’s convoy is currently being attacked with heavy tear-gas shelling,” the PTI said on X on Saturday noon.
Mobile phone and metro bus services remained suspended and schools and markets were closed in the capital for a second consecutive day on Saturday. The federal government also deployed army troops in the capital on Saturday to ensure security of the SCO summit.
Residents complained of immense difficulties in navigating the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi as all roads were blocked off with shipping containers.
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“You don’t want people to come into the city [Islamabad] and get to D-Chowk where the protest is but at least let people go outside the city,” taxi driver Arshad Shad, who was on foot, told Arab News. “Buses can’t move, there is no Internet, no mobile phone service. Families are stuck, they can’t come or go. So I don’t understand what the government is doing, they are only making life more difficult for the public.”
Zafar Iqbal, who deals in the sale and purchase of property, lamented frequent protests and their impact on businesses in the twin cities.
“Every fourth day there is a protest. This is very wrong. This shouldn’t happen. People’s businesses are getting affected and the public is being humiliated,” he told Arab News. “This is a curse for the public, for businessmen. There is already no business and people are worried.”
Protests in Punjab
The PTI also announced a protest in Lahore on Saturday, but Hammad Azhar, a key member of the party, announced on X that demonstrations would be held in all districts across Pakistan’s most populous province.
“Islamabad protest will continue,” he said on Saturday. “Apart from this, it is announced that protests will begin in all districts of Punjab from today. People from Lahore and its surroundings will join the protest in Lahore. There is a call for peaceful protests from today in all the rest of the districts of Punjab.”
Local news channels reported authorities had placed shipping containers on roads leading to the Minar-e-Pakistan monument in Lahore, where the PTI plans to hold the protest. The government has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows the district administration to outlaw gatherings of more than four people on account of security threats, in various cities.
