KARACHI: There is a good reason to shed tears after chopping onions in Balochistan’s Awaran district.
In order to help farmers and exporters make the most of their produce, Pakistan’s Army installed a plant in the district to dry onions, thereby limiting the vegetable from going to waste. “We are happy with the installation of the plant since it will help union growers like us get better prices for our products,” Iqbal Salal, a farmer, said while talking to Arab News on Wednesday.
Salal added that the move was going to be financially beneficial, too, as “bad weather, lack of storage facilities, and low prices between May and July” had made the cultivation of the crop economically unfeasible.
Balochistan is the largest producer of onions after Sindh and contributes about 35 percent to the total yield of the vegetable in the country. Sindh, on the other hand, grows about 40 percent of the crop.
According to the agricultural department’s statistics, nearly 52,210 tons of onions were grown on 7,104 acres of the Awaran district between 2017-18.
“The onion frying plant in Awaran was initially conceived by the agricultural development in District Awaran,” a spokesperson of the Pakistan Army told Arab News, adding that the military — in collaboration with the locals from the area – worked toward installing the plant as a pilot project.
The plant was inaugurated by the Commander of the Southern Command in October and has the capability of processing and frying onions for a longer shelf life. The process can also reduce its volume by about ten times, thereby helping with its transportation.
“The groundbreaking ceremony of the plant took place on July 14,” the spokesperson said, adding that the plant was installed after taking cognizance of the problems and difficulties faced by the locals.
“The transportation of onions to major markets such as Quetta and Karachi was a cumbersome process whereas the production and transportation costs were very high. As a result, farmers did not get their desired profits,” he said.
The spokesperson said that the employment of laborers at the plant would also generate more job opportunities for the locals. “Now, locals will get more money since their transportation cost will significantly come down.”
According to the spokesperson, small farmers are expected to be the major beneficiaries of the plant as they will be able to sell their crop in Awaran instead of going to bigger markets.
Salal agrees, adding that farmers who used to cultivate onions on a nearly 10-acre farmland are now growing it on two to three acres due to the drought-like conditions in the province. “Although our area is best in onion production in the country, our yield has decreased manifold,” he noted, adding that low rates further discouraged the farmers from cultivating the crop. “A 100-kilogram bag which is sold from Rs5,000 to Rs6,000 during offseason is purchased from the growers in just Rs800 to Rs1000. When growers try to store onions for better prices, the vegetable perishes,” Salal said.
Waheed Ahmed, Patron-in-Chief of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association, agrees with the army spokesperson that “the success of the pilot project may attract other notable investors to undertake similar ventures.”
Appreciating the installation of the plant, Ahmed said: “If such examples are set, many exporters would come forward to play their part in carrying out such initiatives.”
The fried product, Ahmed says, would not only help local farmers get good prices for their product but would also help the country increase its exports.
“We are competing with India in onion export and since India produces best quality onions, we must tap into the window of opportunity left by our neighboring state,” he said, suggesting: “We should also invest in better seeds for a better product to compete in the international market.”
One way to do this, he reasons, is by “conducting research for producing best quality onion” and investing in more frying plants.
Onion farmers cry tears of joy after army installs frying plant in Balochistan
Onion farmers cry tears of joy after army installs frying plant in Balochistan
- Move to help increase shelf life and avoid wastage of the crop
- More than 50,000 tons of the vegetable was produced in the Awaran district between 2017-18
Tickets for Pakistan’s home series against New Zealand to go on sale from tomorrow
- Pakistan will play against New Zealand in Rawalpindi and Lahore venues from April 18-27
- Series will help prepare both sides for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 in USA and West Indies
ISLAMABAD: The tickets for Pakistan’s upcoming T20I home cricket series against New Zealand will go on sale from tomorrow, Friday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement on Thursday.
The five-match series is scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi on April 18, 20 and 21 and in Lahore on April 25 and 27.
“In the first phase, the pre-booking of the online tickets will start on Friday at 5pm at pcb.tcs.com.pk,” the PCB said. “The sale of physical tickets along with outlet addresses will be announced in due course.”
The PCB said tickets for the Rawalpindi leg of the matches will be available at a minimum cost of Rs500 ($1.80) and the maximum will be available for Rs7,500 ($26.98) for the VVIP Gallery. Additionally, hospitality seats will be available at a maximum amount of PKR 15,000 ($53.97) except for the first T20I where the hospitality seats will be available for PKR 12,000 ($43.17).
For the Lahore leg, ticket prices start at Rs300 ($1.08) for the general seats while the maximum ticket prices will be Rs6,000 ($21.59) for the fourth T20I while Rs7,000 ($25.19) for the fifth T20I (VVIP Gallery).
The series will be important for both sides as they gear up for this year’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 which is scheduled to be held in June in the USA and West Indies.
Pakistan will lock horns with arch-rivals India on June 9 for a big-ticket clash at New York.
Pakistani interior minister, KP CM vow to improve coordination amid surge in attacks
- Five Chinese nationals were killed in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday in a bombing
- Interior minister, KP chief minister vow to bring perpetrators of attack to justice
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interior minister and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Thursday vowed to strengthen coordination between the center and the province to improve the law-and-order situation, the KP CM’s office said, amid a surge in terror attacks in the province.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvy arrived in Peshawar to meet Gandapur on Thursday to review the province’s law and order situation two days after five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the country’s volatile northwest.
The incident took place in KP’s Shangla where a bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the vehicle of Chinese engineers and construction workers on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in an area vital to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which encompasses various mega projects crucial for Pakistan’s economy. The victims were en route to Dasu Dam, Pakistan’s largest hydropower project, when they were targeted.
“To improve the law-and-order situation in the province, both agreed to improve the coordination between law enforcement institutions on the federal and provincial levels,” a statement from the KP chief minister’s office said.
The two condemned the attack on the Chinese nationals and expressed their condolences to Beijing and the families of those who had been killed in the attack.
“The two expressed their resolve to bring all those involved in the incident to justice and put an end to terrorism,” the statement said.
Gandapur said it was his government’s top priority to ensure law and order in the province and to safeguard people’s lives.
Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday that Islamabad had enhanced the security of Chinese nationals after the attack.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said both Pakistani and Chinese governments were in contact after the tragic incident on March 26, adding they were fully committed to bringing the terrorists, along with their facilitators and abettors, to justice.
No group had claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion was likely to fall on separatists and the breakaway Gul Bahadur faction of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP.
The TTP is a separate group, but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
The TTP denied being behind the suicide bombing in a statement Wednesday, saying: “We are in no way related to the attack on the Chinese engineers.”
Tuesday’s attack came less than a week after Pakistani security forces killed eight Balochistan Liberation Army separatists who opened fire on a convoy carrying Chinese citizens outside the Chinese-funded Gwadar port in the volatile southwestern Balochistan province.
Pakistan says security of Chinese nationals enhanced after deadly attack
- Pakistan’s foreign office says the government fully understands Chinese security concerns after the attack
- It points out Pakistan has built a fence, introduced one document regime to secure its border with Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday the government has further enhanced the security of Chinese nationals only days after a deadly suicide bombing killed five of them along with their Pakistani driver in the country’s volatile northwest.
The incident took place in Shangla, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the vehicle of Chinese engineers and construction workers on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in an area vital to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which encompasses various mega projects crucial for Pakistan’s economy. The victims were en route to Dasu Dam, Pakistan’s largest hydropower project, when they were targeted.
“I can reassure you that Pakistan has further enhanced the security of Chinese nationals,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters in a weekly media briefing in Islamabad.
She said both Pakistani and Chinese governments were in contact after the tragic incident on March 26, adding they were fully committed to bringing the terrorists, along with their facilitators and abettors, to justice.
“At this point, we are focusing on investigating the terror attack and ensuring that the dead bodies of the deceased are transported to their home country,” she added. “This is the first priority at this stage.”
Asked about the security concerns raised by the Chinese officials following the attack, Baloch said the Pakistani government fully understood their concerns.
“We are engaged with the Chinese officials at very senior level to discuss the arrangements for the safety of Chinese nationals and for the investigation of this particular terror incident,” she informed.
The foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan would continue to work with the Chinese authorities to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan.
“We have no doubt that the … terror attack [in Shangla] was orchestrated by the enemies of Pakistan-China friendship and together, we will resolutely act against all such forces and defeat them,” she emphasized.
In response to a question regarding Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s statement regarding the necessity for stronger border controls between Pakistan and Afghanistan, she clarified he was elaborating measures already taken by Pakistan to regulate travel between the two neighboring countries.
“Pakistan-Afghanistan border is an important border, and Pakistan has, over time, taken several measures to secure the border, including erecting a fence along the border,” she continued.
“Pakistan has also introduced one document regime under which individuals can travel to Pakistan on the basis of valid visas on their passports,” Baloch added.
Pakistan’s top court conditionally allows military courts to declare reserved judgments in May 9 cases
- Supreme Court says judgments can only be announced in cases in which people can be released before Eid Al-Fitr
- Attorney general says 20 people can be released before the Muslim religious festival is celebrated next month
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday allowed military courts to announce judgments reserved in cases against civilians linked to the May 9 violence that erupted last year after the brief detention of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges.
Demonstrators, identified with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, targeted government buildings and military installations, notably setting ablaze the official residence of a senior army general in Lahore.
This incident prompted a significant crackdown on PTI leaders and supporters, with the government facing allegations of arbitrary arrests and custodial torture, which it denied.
Following the May 9 events, military authorities sought to prosecute civilians involved in the assaults on its properties nationwide. However, the move was challenged, and a five-member Supreme Court bench deemed civilian trials in military courts unconstitutional in October.
The government has since appealed the decision.
The Supreme Court said during the hearing today that only the verdict in those cases should be announced in which the people on trial can be released before the Eid Al-Fitr festivities next month.
“Twenty out of 103 suspects involved in the May 9 incidents will be released before Eid,” Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan told the court. “These 20 individuals will be released following the established procedure.”
The PTI has complained of being unjustly targeted by state institutions since the downfall of its administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Khan himself remains behind bars in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi after being convicted in a number of cases in recent months.
Pakistan seeks swift implementation of Security Council’s ceasefire resolution in Gaza
- The foreign office asks Israel’s ‘backers’ to force the Netanyahu administration to end the Palestinian ‘massacre’
- It also seeks lifting of the ‘inhumane siege’ of Gaza to ensure smooth flow of humanitarian assistance to people
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Thursday called for the swift implementation of the United Nations Security Council’s ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip to end Israel’s relentless military campaign against the people of Palestine which has lasted for over five months.
Israel launched its campaign after a surprise attack was initiated by Hamas on Oct. 7 in response to the deteriorating condition of Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation. Since then, Israel has killed over 32,000 Gaza residents, most of them women and children, by targeting hospitals and residential neighborhoods.
The Security Council demanded an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas earlier this week in what was viewed as a massive legal blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration that has been widely accused of running a genocidal campaign against Palestinians.
However, Israel has continued to carry out its operations in the area.
“It has been three days since the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine,” the foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said during her weekly media briefing. “However, the Israeli war on the people of Gaza continues unabated and the Palestinian people continue to face starvation and genocide.”
“We call on the backers of Israel to urge Israel to bring an end to the massacre of the Palestinian people, lift the inhumane siege and allow humanitarian assistance in all parts of Gaza,” she continued. “The international community must redouble its efforts for a just and durable solution to the Palestine question and for the creation of a of an independent viable sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also mentioned the UN resolution at an iftar-dinner hosted by the foreign ministry to honor the members of the diplomatic community in the country, calling for an immediate ceasefire.
“I would like to reiterate Pakistan’s firm support for the people of Palestine in their just struggle for their inseparable right to self-determination and we all hope and to make our sincere efforts that this UN Security Council’s resolution is implemented in latent spirit immediately and brutality against the Palestinians must end henceforth,” he said.