ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for the restructuring of the country’s wheat board and steps to enhance production of wheat and other crops, his office said on Friday, weeks after farmer protests over wheat imports.
Pakistan saw weeks of protests this year by farmers in Punjab, the country’s largest province and “bread basket,” who demanded the government stop wheat imports that had flooded the market at a time when they expected bumper crops.
Pakistan’s wheat production during 2023-24 stood at 31.4 million tons as compared to 28.2 million tons last year, posting a growth of 11.6 percent. According to official data, the country had over 36 million tons of wheat stock by June, including carry-forward stock.
Wheat has a 9 percent share in Pakistan’s agriculture and contributes 2.2 percent of the GDP and is harvested in Pakistan from April to June, with peak vegetation development occurring between late March and early February.
Sharif, while presiding over a meeting of officials of the national food security ministry and other bodies, issued directives to include representatives of the Land Information and Management System and the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) in the wheat board.
“Farmer representatives should be included in the wheat board,” Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.
The prime minister urged authorities to devise an alternate strategy to purchase wheat and consult Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and provincial governments in this regard.
During earlier protests, farmers had said the import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of this year had resulted in excess amounts of the commodity in the country, leading to reduced prices.
Official data shows Pakistan spent over $1 billion to import 3.5 million tons of wheat from July 2023 till May 2024.
Agriculture is one of the most significant income sectors in Pakistan, making up nearly 23 percent of the GDP of the country.
PM calls for restructuring Pakistan wheat board weeks after import crisis protests
https://arab.news/wj6j4
PM calls for restructuring Pakistan wheat board weeks after import crisis protests
- Wheat has nine percent share in Pakistan’s agriculture sector and contributes 2.2 percent of GDP
- Pakistan saw weeks of protests by farmers demanding government stop wheat imports that had flooded market
In a first, Pakistan Cricket Board to host women’s trials in far-flung Sost Valley
- Sost Valley in northern Gilgit-Baltistan is the last town located on Karakorum Highway connecting Pakistan to China
- PCB to hold trials across 14 Pakistan cities from August 5 to September 3 under U19 and Emerging categories
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced it would host open trials for women cricketers for the first time in the picturesque northern remote village of Sost, saying the initiative highlights the board’s commitment to exploring women’s talent in far-flung areas.
Sost, situated in Pakistan’s mountainous northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, is the last town located on the high-altitude Karakorum Highway that connects Pakistan and China.
The PCB will hold open trials for women at the grassroots level across 14 cities of the country from Monday, August 5, to September 3, the board said.
“Among the 14 cities, PCB will host first-ever women’s cricket trials in the Sost Valley, a region known for its picturesque landscapes and passionate cricketing community,” the board said in a statement. “This initiative highlights PCB’s commitment to explore women’s talent in far-flung areas.”
The PCB said that the trials would be held in two phases, with Gilgit, Hunza and Sost regions hosting the trials from August 5-7 while the second phase will begin from August 21 and conclude on September 3.
In case of rain on any given date of the trials, the trials of the respective city will be conducted between 4 to 5 September.
“Former international cricketers Asad Shafiq and Batool Fatima – members of the women’s national selection committee — will hold the trials across the country,” the board said.
The board said that the trial would include two categories, U19 and emerging, with players born on or after September 1, 2005, being eligible for the U19 trials.
“These trials will help the selectors to discover and develop the next generation of women’s cricketers,” Shafiq said in a statement. “We are keen to ensure that talent from every corner of the country gets a fair chance to shine.”
He said the selection process would enable women to represent domestic teams, ultimately leading them to play for the national sides in the future.
Fatima described the open trials as “a crucial step” in efforts to nurture young talent.
“We are excited to see the future stars of women’s cricket come forward and showcase their potential,” she said. “I will urge all parents to support their daughters in pursuing their cricket dreams by helping them participating in the nationwide selection trials.”
SCHEDULE
5 Aug – Venue: Cricket Ground for Girls Cricket at Public Schools and Colleges, Gilgit. Selectors: Asad Shafiq and Batool Fatima
6 Aug – Venue: Boys Degree College Ground, Hunza. Selectors: Asad Shafiq and Batool Fatima
7 Aug – Venue: Sost Valley, Hussainabad Cricket Ground, Hunza. Selectors: Asad Shafiq and Batool Fatima
Second phase:
21 Aug – Venue: Hanif Mohammad High Performance Center, Karachi. Selector: Asad Shafiq
22 Aug – Venue: Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala. Selector: Asad Shafiq
23 Aug – Venue: Crescent Cricket Ground, Sialkot. Selector: Asad Shafiq
26 Aug – Venue: LCCA, Lahore. Selectors: Asad Shafiq and Batool Fatima
27 Aug – Venue: Saeed Ajmal Academy, Faisalabad. Selector: Batool Fatima; Venue: Qayyum Stadium, Peshawar. Selector: Asad Shafiq
28 Aug – Venue: Mardan Sports Complex, Mardan. Selector: Asad Shafiq
29 Aug – Venue: Abbottabad Stadium, Abbottabad. Selector: Asad Shafiq; Venue: Bugti Stadium, Quetta. Selector: Batool Fatima
30 Aug – Venue: Viqar Un Nisa College, Rawalpindi. Selector: Asad Shafiq
2 Sep – Venue: Inzamam ul Haq High Performance Center, Multan. Selector: Batool Fatima
3 Sep – Venue: Women Sports Stadium, Bahawalpur. Selector: Batool Fatima
Pakistan saw ‘remarkable surge’ in exports during FY24 while imports declined — state media
- Pakistan’s merchandise exports rose by 10.54 percent to $30.64 billion during FY24, says state media
- South Asian country’s imports fell by 0.84 percent to $54.73 billion during the last fiscal year
ISLAMANBAD: Pakistan witnessed a “remarkable” surge in its exports during the financial year 2023-24, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday, saying that official data was proof that the South Asian country’s products were gaining prominence worldwide.
Grappling with a macroeconomic crisis that has depleted its fragile economy of its resources, Pakistan has sought to engage regional allies in a bid to increase investment and trade. The South Asian country has sought to enhance its exports and provide visa and trade facilities to several countries as it eyes economic growth and stability.
Pakistan set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in June 2022 to attract foreign investment in key economic sectors, particularly from Gulf countries. The hybrid civil-military forum aims to fast-track decision-making and investment.
“Pakistan has witnessed a remarkable surge in exports during the financial year 2023-24 due to concerted efforts of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC),” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report.
“According to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan’s merchandise exports rose by 10.54 percent to 30.64 billion dollars in financial year 2023-24.”
On the other hand, the report said Pakistan’s imports fell by 0.84 percent to $54.73 billion during the last fiscal year.
It credited “round-the-clock” efforts from the SIFC and Pakistan’s commerce ministry for helping Pakistan establish new markets for the export of meat in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Uzbekistan.
The report also noted that for the first time, Pakistan’s agro-exports increased by 37 percent from $5.8 billion to $8 billion.
“By reaching this level of development, Pakistan’s agricultural sector can achieve the export target of 10 billion dollars in the current financial year,” Radio Pakistan said.
“The significant increase in exports indicates the increasing importance of Pakistani products in the global market and the revolutionary initiatives of SIFC.”
Pakistan’s Punjab reports its first polio case of 2024, taking national tally to 12
- Latest polio case detected from Pakistan’s eastern Chakwal district, confirms official
- Pakistan to launch three anti-polio campaigns in September, October and December
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Punjab has reported its first case of the poliovirus this year, a government official confirmed on Sunday, taking the total nationwide tally of the cases reported this year to 12.
Pakistan’s National Coordinator for Polio Captain (retd) Anwar ul Haq confirmed that the latest case was reported on Saturday from Punjab’s Chakwal district.
As per local media reports, a six-year-old male child had been infected with the virus.
Previously, Pakistan has reported nine cases from the southwestern Balochistan province and two in the southern Sindh province this year.
“The first case of polio in Punjab this year has been reported in Chakwal district of the province,” Haq told Arab News. “Samples from the sewage have been taken from across the country and poliovirus has been found in more than 50 districts of Pakistan.”
Haq said the government is launching three anti-polio campaigns in September, October and December this year to curb the infection.
“Pakistan is launching these campaigns simultaneously with Afghanistan to make it more effective,” he said. “The government has set a target to achieve 96 percent of children vaccinated by the end of 2024.”
Polio is a highly infectious disease mainly affecting children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination has proven to be the most effective way to protect children from the crippling disease.
Polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan have been hampered by the belief among many Pakistanis, particularly those residing in the conservative northwestern tribal areas, that the medicine is a Western campaign aimed at sterilizing the country’s population or a cover for Western spies.
In 2012, the local Taliban ordered a ban on immunization against polio in some tribal districts. Several policemen have been killed this year while on security duty during vaccination campaigns that are frequently targeted by militants. Dozens of polio workers have also lost their lives over the decades.
The 2011 US special forces raid inside Pakistan that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, architect of the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, also increased masses’ fears about polio vaccination.
A Pakistani doctor was accused of using a fake vaccination campaign to collect DNA samples that the CIA was believed to have been using to verify bin Laden’s identity. The doctor remains jailed in Pakistan.
Pakistani religio-political party vows to continue anti-inflation sit-in till demands are met
- Jamaat-e-Islami protesters in Rawalpindi, Karachi have called on government to abolish new taxes, review agreements with power producers
- Pakistan’s government has formed committee to negotiation with protesters, held talks that have remain inconclusive as of yet
ISLAMABAD: A leading Pakistani religious political party has warned it would not call off its anti-inflation sit-in in Rawalpindi and Karachi cities until its demands are met, with the protest entering its tenth day today, Sunday.
Thousands of supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party started a protest demonstration in Pakistan’s garrison city of Rawalpindi on July 26, gathering at the historic Liaqat Bagh to demand that the government review stringent economic measures that have financially burdened the people.
Pakistan’s government has formed a committee to hold negotiations with protesters. The JI expanded its protest to Pakistan’s largest city Karachi on Saturday, vowing not to let up until its demands are not met.
“The rulers thought this sit-in would last for a few days, that they [protesters] would tire after a few days,” JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman told supporters at Liaqat Bagh on Saturday night.
“The rulers should listen to us, we will not return until our demands are not met,” he vowed.
Rehman said that it is the responsibility of the state to provide education, health care and employment to the masses. He lamented that militancy was rising in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces while street crimes were rampant in Karachi.
“But the rulers focus only on their protocol and luxuries,” Rehman said.
Pakistan’s tax-heavy budget, which proved instrumental in helping Islamabad gain a new loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been criticized by opposition parties and traders across the country, who have called on the government to review its economic policies.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has frequently said the country had no other option but to seek a bailout program from the IMF to stabilize its fragile economy.
Pakistan has been grappling with a macroeconomic crisis that has caused its currency to weaken against the US dollar, foreign reserves to plummet to historic lows and inflation to surge to double-digit levels in the past two years.
Northern Pakistan, Balochistan on alert over fears of glacial lake outbursts and floods
- Glacial lake outburst floods, landslides and flash floods expected in KP, GB from Aug. 3-6, says disaster management authority
- Hill torrents in nullahs of Zhob, Kalat, Nasirabad and Sibbi divisions in Balochistan to experience “high to very high” flash flooding
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s disaster management authority has warned of glacial lake outbursts, flash floods and landslides in the country’s north and southwestern Balochistan province due to torrential monsoon rains.
Torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan have killed at least 38 people this week in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and Punjab. According to figures from the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMA) in both provinces, 32 people were killed due to rain-related incidents this week in KP while six died in Punjab.
Pakistan is recognized as one of the world’s worst-affected countries due to climate change impacts. The South Asian country has experienced torrential rains, droughts and heat waves that have become more severe and erratic over the past couple of years.
“NDMA [National Disaster Management Authority] National Emergencies Operation Center anticipated that the latest hydrometeorological conditions suggest that high to very high-level flash flooding is likely in Balochistan,” the authority said in a statement.
It warned that hill torrents of the local nullahs of Zhob, Kalat, Nasirabad and Sibbi divisions are likely to experience “high to very high level” of flash flooding, saying it could damage infrastructure.
“Similarly, The hill torrents of and local nullahs of Dera Ghazi Khan are likely to experience high to very high level of flash flooding which may result in damage to infrastructure,” it added.
The authority warned populations at risk to avoid flood waters and find safe locations away from flood-prone areas.
Separately, Pakistani state-run media Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) warned of glacial lake outbursts (GLOF), flash floods and landslides in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa areas from Aug. 3-6.
“The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Emergencies Operation Center anticipated that a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), Landslides and Flash Flood is expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan due to increasing glacier melt, persistent high temperatures and weather system bringing intermittent rains from today till Tuesday,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said on Saturday.
The NDMA said intermittent rains and high temperatures are expected to trigger low-level/localized flash floods, which in turn can impact temporary bridge and road connections for upstream areas.
The authority has advised the provincial disaster management authorities and local administrations in KP and GB to closely monitor the situation, identify at-risk populations, and evacuate them to safer zones in case of medium to high flows, the state-run media reported.
Unusually heavy rains in June 2022 triggered flash floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.
In June, a UN official warned that an estimated 200,000 people in Pakistan could be affected by the upcoming monsoon season, which is expected to bring heavier rains than usual.
