ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK) expect a major boost in bilateral trade between the two countries, the Pakistani commerce ministry said on Monday, following the arrival of British Trade Commissioner Oliver Christian in Islamabad on a three-day visit.
Christian, who serves as the Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan as well as the UK counsel general to Dubai, landed in Islamabad over the weekend on his first-ever trip to strengthen economic and trade links with Pakistan.
He has facilitated over £78 billion in investment and export deals apart from playing a key role in launching the UK Global Investment Summit and the Office of Investment, according to the British high commission in Islamabad.
On Monday, the UK trade commissioner, met with Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal to explore avenues to enhance bilateral trade, the Pakistani commerce ministry said.
“The meeting highlighted the need for sectoral collaboration and a business-to-business matchmaking approach to target growth areas in both countries,” it said in a statement. “Jam Kamal emphasized Pakistan’s immense potential in the food sector, particularly through value addition.”
Kamal underscored his government’s commitment to expanding trade and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s plan to achieve an ambitious export growth target of $60 billion from the existing $30 billion. He highlighted Pakistan’s success in organizing an International Food and Agriculture Exhibition in Karachi on Aug. 9-11, where more than 800 foreign delegates participated.
“This was the first event of its kind, with such a large international presence and it opened doors to significant business opportunities,” the minister said.
Citing Pakistan’s growing exports in information technology, mining, horticulture and dairy, Kamal discussed the potential for future exports, including olive products. “Pakistan is on its way to becoming a significant olive exporter, with vast cultivation underway,” he shared.
The UK trade commissioner acknowledged Pakistan’s vast potential and assured full support for increasing the trade volume between the two nations, according to the Pakistani commerce ministry. Both sides emphasized the importance of the UK-Pakistan Trade Dialogue, a platform to be established soon to promote trade and investment.
As the UK diversifies its import sources post-Brexit, Kamal highlighted Pakistan’s potential to become a key supplier of food products to the UK, given its compliance with international standards.
Pakistan and the UK have a long and multifaceted relationship, with the latter hosting a large Pakistani diaspora community. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also accepted an invitation by King Charles III over a telephone call last week to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa next month from October 21-26.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s deputy premier Ishaq Dar also embarked on a five-day official visit to London, where he held wide-ranging discussions with the new British administration.
During his visit, Christian will announce significant new partnerships, including a strategic transnational education agreement between Beaconhouse International College and the University of Essex, the British high commission said on Sunday. The partnership with Essex University aimed to provide Pakistani students access to world-class education in business, computing and law subjects, it added.
The high commission said Britain’s Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust partnered with Novacare hospitals to set up a 250-bed hospital in Islamabad, which would open in 2026 and offer 28 clinical services along international standards.
Terming Pakistan as the third-largest trade partner, British Deputy High Commissioner Sarah Mooney said on Sunday the UK was committed to “driving economic development,” while addressing challenges that “hold back growth.”
“This visit reinforces our commitment to working together to unlock opportunities to benefit both countries,” she said.
Christain said British firms operating in Pakistan were market leaders in their respective fields that were “trusted by millions of consumers.”
“We are dedicated to strengthening our economic relationship with Pakistan, not just through investments and partnerships but by working together to demonstrate the opportunity here for UK businesses,” he said.
The high commission said the UK was Pakistan’s third-largest export market, with the total trade amounting to $5 billion in the four quarters leading up to the end of 2024.
Pakistan, UK eye major trade boost amid high-ranking British official’s visit to Islamabad
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Pakistan, UK eye major trade boost amid high-ranking British official’s visit to Islamabad
- Oliver Christian has facilitated over £78 billion in investment and export deals apart from playing a key role in launching the UK Global Investment Summit
- In meeting with Pakistan’s commerce minister, the UK trade commissioner acknowledged Pakistan’s potential and assured support for increasing trade volume
Seven cops abducted by armed gunmen in northwest Pakistan released — police
- Policemen were abducted by dozens of armed gunmen from Bannu district on Monday, police said
- Over 82 policemen have been killed in attacks, ambushes, targeted killings in northwest this year
PESHAWAR: Seven policemen abducted from a check post on Monday in northwest Pakistan have been recovered through the efforts of local tribal elders and a massive search operation by police in the unforgiving mountainous terrain, officials said on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has seen a rise in militant attacks in recent months, which Islamabad says are mostly carried out by Afghan nationals and their facilitators and by Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups who cross over into Pakistan using safe haven in Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Kabul denies the charges, saying Pakistan’s security challenges are a domestic issue.
Over 82 policemen have been killed in attacks, ambushes and targeted killings in KP this year, according to official data.
Speaking to Arab News on Tuesday, Ziauddin Ahmed, the District Police Officer (DPO) for Bannu district where the abduction happened, said all seven abductees had been released and were in police custody.
“Police carried out a search operation to locate the abducted officials but their release was secured following hectic efforts by local elders,” Ahmed said, without giving more details of the rescue operation.
No group has as yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
Noorzad Khan, a police officer in Bannu, said dozens of well-armed militants on Monday forced their way inside the Rocha check post in the jurisdiction of Utmanzi police station, a region on the edge with the restive North Waziristan tribal district, long a haven for Taliban and other militants.
The gunmen were able to get away with all the weapons and equipment at the checkpoint.
“The attackers besieged the check post and then held the policemen hostage at gunpoint,” Khan said, confirming the return of the seven officers.
The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban movement, but pledges loyalty to the Islamist group that now rules Afghanistan after US-led international forces withdrew in 2021.
Islamabad says TTP uses Afghanistan as a base and that the ruling Taliban administration has provided safe havens to the group close to the border. The Taliban deny this.
IDEAS 2024: Haider tank in spotlight on first day of Pakistani mega defense expo
- IDEAS has been held biennially since 2000 and has since grown into a key event for the Pakistani defense sector
- Second day of the exhibition, Wednesday, will see launch of new medium-altitude long-endurance Shahpar III drone
KARACHI: The third-generation Haider tank was in the spotlight on Tuesday as Pakistan’s premier defense exhibition, IDEAS, kicked off in Karachi, hosting 550 exhibitors, including 340 international defense companies, as well as 350 civilian and military officials from 55 countries.
IDEAS has been held biennially since 2000 and has since grown into a key event for the Pakistani defense sector.
This year’s exhibition, running from Nov. 19-22 at the Karachi Expo Center, is showcasing a wide range of modern and traditional defense equipment, weapons systems and vehicles.
“This tank is locally produced in Pakistan at the Heavy Industry Taxila in collaboration with our local and international technology partners,” Anza Aqeel, Assistant Director Heavy Industry Taxila, told Arab News, explaining that Haider had auto-tracking, a remote-control weapon system and a 470-kilometer cruising range.
“It has the capability of firing in both the day and night. It can fire up to eight rounds per minute due to its autoloading capability.”
Aqeel said the Haider tank was of export quality, with production currently underway.
“This tank has an auto tracker installed and both the gunner and commander can fire using the auto tracker,” he added.
The second day of the exhibition, Wednesday, will see the launch of the Shahpar-III drone, the third generation of the GIDS Shahpar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Global Industrial Defense Solutions of Pakistan and used by the Pakistani military.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Pakistan’s volume of defense exports was not yet aligned with its potential.
“Though Pakistan is now exporting some high-tech products to more than 60 countries, the volume of exports is not at par with its actual potential,” Asif said.
“A crucial factor, however, has been the limited involvement of the private sector in defense production and activity.”
“In order to achieve this objective, I will stress upon the integration of public and private defense industry to achieve maximum results,” Asif added. “New ideas, entrepreneurship and management skills mastered by the private sector need to be co-opted with the public sector defense industry.”
This year’s event also features a “Startups Pavilion” designed to offer international exposure to young Pakistani entrepreneurs and give them an opportunity to showcase new projects and technologies.
Pakistani police arrest man accused of insulting Qur’an, save him from being lynched by mob
- Khan said man allegedly made derogatory remarks about Qur’an during heated argument with brother
- Demonstrators threw stones at police station, threatened to burn it if the man was not handed over to them
PESHAWAR: Police arrested a man accused of insulting Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday after being alerted that a mob wanted to lynch him, police said.
The man, identified as Humayun Ullah, was arrested in Khazana, an area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police officer Nasir Khan said.
He said the man was arrested as a mob was trying to grab him in a street.
Video posted on social media showed hundreds of people blocking a road near a police station and demanding the man be handed over to them. Gunshots were also heard near the police station, where the man was being held for questioning.
Khan said the man allegedly made derogatory remarks about the Qur’an during a heated argument with his brother at the family’s home. He said some of the demonstrators threw stones at the police station and threatened to burn it and harm officers if the man was not handed over to them.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death — though authorities have yet to carry out a death sentences for blasphemy.
The arrest Tuesday came two months after the government said police had orchestrated the killing of a doctor who was in custody after being accused of blasphemy in southern Sindh province. The doctor had voluntarily surrendered following assurances from officers that he would be given a chance to prove his innocence.
In November 2021, a mob burned a police station and four police posts in northwestern Charsadda district after officers refused to hand over a mentally unstable man accused of desecrating the Qur’an.
Supreme Court dismisses petition challenging extension in tenure of army chief
- Pakistan earlier this month passed bills to extend the tenures of heads of the armed forces to five years from three
- Rights advocates say measures by PM Sharif’s coalition could be aimed at shoring up support from powerful military figures
ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the extension of the tenure of Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir, state news agency APP said.
Pakistan’s parliament earlier this month passed bills to extend the terms of the heads of the armed forces to five years from three, a move that has been opposed by rights activists as well as the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The PTI believes extending the term of commanders including the army chief would deal another blow to the embattled Khan and his party, which blames the military for his downfall. The army denies involvement.
“The petition was dismissed after the petitioner Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi failed to appear before the court and defend his argument in spite of repeated notices,” APP said. “Also, the new legislation fixing the tenure of all three service chiefs paved the way for the dismissal of the petition.”
The office of the army chief is considered to be the most powerful in the country, with the military having ruled Pakistan for almost half of its 75-year history. Even when not directly in power, the army is considered to be the invisible guiding hand in politics and holds considerable sway in internal security, foreign policy, and economic affairs, among other domains.
The coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended the passage of the new bills that extend the tenures of the army, navy and air force chiefs, saying the move would check against services chiefs granting themselves extensions and “formalize” the duration of their service. The government says the bills are aimed at building continuity and avoiding the political turmoil that usually surrounds the appointment of the army chief every three years.
Rights activists and democracy advocates say the measures by the Sharif-led coalition, which is opposed to Khan and took power after an election in February, could be aimed at shoring up support from powerful military figures.
Under the new law, Gen.l Munir, who took office in November 2022 with a timeline to retire in 2025, will serve until 2027 irrespective of a retirement age of 64 for a general.
Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, has been at odds with generals he blames for his 2022 ousting, after he fell out with then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. The military denies it interferes in politics.
Khan’s party-backed candidates won the most seats in February’s election but fell short of a majority, clearing the way for his opponents led by Sharif to form a government.
Khan’s supporters have since been agitating in parliament and on the streets, alleging that the election was rigged to keep them out of power, which the election commission denies. The PTI says the ruling alliance does not enjoy legitimacy, an accusation the government rejects.
The passage of the new bills on extension in service tenure follows controversial amendments made to the constitution last month, granting lawmakers the authority to nominate the chief justice of Pakistan, who previously used to be automatically appointed according to the principle of seniority.
The amendments allowed the government to bypass the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and appoint Justice Yahya Afridi as the country’s top judge.
The opposition and the legal fraternity have opposed the amendments, arguing that they are aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments and curtailing the independence of the judiciary. The government denies this.
All schools to reopen in Pakistan’s Punjab province as air quality improves
- Lahore’s air quality index fell to 158 on Tuesday, which IQAir categorizes as unhealthy, after crossing 2,000 last week
- Record air pollution has triggered mass hospitalizations, school closures and lockdown orders in Punjab province
ISLAMABAD: Air quality improved in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Tuesday, prompting authorities in the worst-affected Lahore and Multan cities to reopen schools from Wednesday after over ten days of being closed due to record-high pollution levels.
Lahore’s air quality index (AQI) fell to 158 late on Tuesday, which Swedish group IQAir categorizes as unhealthy, after crossing 2,000 in some locations last week.
On Monday, the Punjab government had said schools would reopen across Punjab province, except for in the Lahore and Multan divisions.
“The ambient air quality has improved in Punjab, due to rain in upper parts of Punjab, change in wind direction and speed,” a notification said.
“Therefore, all the educational institutions in the whole province, including Lahore and Multan Division, shall be opened w.e.f. 20-11-2024 (Wednesday).”
The notification said school opening timings could not be before 845am, as smog is thickest in the early morning hours, and all students and staff had to wear face masks.
“There shall be a complete ban on outdoor sports and outdoor co-curricular activities till further orders,” the notification added. “All educational institutions shall introduce class wise school closing timing to avoid traffic congestions.”
Record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, junior and high school closures and stay-at-home orders in several districts of Punjab, including the provincial capital of Lahore, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.
Schools and government offices were closed earlier this month in many districts of Punjab, with the closures affecting the education of more than 20 million students, according to associations representing private and government schools.
Authorities in 18 districts of Punjab also closed all public parks, zoos and museums, historical places, and playgrounds for ten days last week.
A court in Lahore ordered the government to shut all markets after 8pm, while authorities have already banned barbecuing food without filters and ordered wedding halls to close by 10pm.
Last week, the UN children’s agency said the health of 11 million children in Punjab province was in danger because of air pollution.
