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EU notes 'deficiencies' in Pakistan’s implementation of commitments ahead of GSP+ renewal

This picture taken on January 11, 2023, shows a general view of sea port in Karachi, Pakistan. (AFP/File)
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Updated 06 June 2023
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EU notes 'deficiencies' in Pakistan’s implementation of commitments ahead of GSP+ renewal

  • GSP+ is a special trade arrangement offered to developing economies by European nations
  • Beneficiary nations commit to implement 27 conventions on rights, climate, governance
Updated 06 June 2023
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has taken steps to “effectively” implement its international commitments regarding the European Union's Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) but “deficiencies” remain, a senior EU official said on Monday.

GSP+ is a special trade arrangement offered to developing economies by European nations in return for their commitment to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection and governance. The current GSP framework will come to an end in December 2023.

To maintain the benefits of GSP+, Pakistan and other beneficiary countries will need to re-apply and submit a work plan outlining their commitment to implementing the relevant international conventions.

“Over the last ten years, Pakistan has taken steps to effectively implement its international commitments on the 27 conventions and all of which we are scrupulously noting,” Dr. Ewa Synowiec, principal advisor at the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission, said via video link from Brussels as she addressed a national dialogue called GSP+ Week organized by the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) and the Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights (PCHR) with participation from key Pakistani stakeholders in the government, judiciary, media and civil society.

“However, deficiencies remained in many areas, and for this reason, it is a good initiative taken by this forum to organize this week-long program,” Synowiec said, adding that the EU would also get a final report on Pakistan’s actions from its mission in Pakistan.  

“The performance on international agreements and conventions are the basis of the GSP+ commitments and also the basis for the future of the program for all beneficiaries including Pakistan,” Synowiec added.

Her comments come as Pakistan has seen the mass arrests of leaders from former prime minister Imran Khan's party and the move to try them in military courts, following violent protests last month. Local and international human rights bodies have raised alarm about the crackdown against Khan and his party and said military courts infringe on due legal process. 

Leading journalists have also been picked up, with rights groups pointing fingers at Pakistan's powerful intelligence services often suspected of intimidating critics in this way. Their involvement has rarely been proved.

Topics: Pakistan European Union (EU) economy GSP+

Authorities formally launch Makkah Route initiative at Pakistan’s Karachi airport

Updated 12 May 2024
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Authorities formally launch Makkah Route initiative at Pakistan’s Karachi airport

  • Pakistani pilgrims performing Hajj under government scheme have been availing the facility in Islamabad
  • Saudi authorities last month approved expansion of the Makkah Route initiative to the Karachi airport
Updated 12 May 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Saudi and Pakistani authorities on Sunday formally launched the Makkah Route initiative at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said, with a second flight under the project leaving the southern Pakistani city for Madinah.
Launched in 2019, the initiative allows for the completion of immigration procedures at the pilgrims’ country of departure. This makes it possible to bypass long immigration and customs checks upon reaching Saudi Arabia, which significantly reduces the waiting time and makes the entry process smoother and faster.
Pakistani pilgrims performing Hajj under the government scheme have been availing this facility at the airport in Islamabad for the last couple of years. Saudi authorities last month approved the expansion of the Makkah Route initiative to the Karachi airport.
Kamran Tessori, the governor of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, Saudi Arabia’s Passport & Immigration Chairman Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al-Yahya, Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki and other officials attended the inaugural ceremony.
“The Road to Makkah Project facility from the Saudi government was located at the Islamabad airport in the past years. Alhamdulillah, it has been started from Karachi this year too and 35,500 pilgrims from Karachi will benefit from this facility this year,” Tessori said, while addressing the ceremony.
“Under this facility, the pilgrims can receive the goods at their respective hotels in Saudi Arabia after all the necessary clearance from the airport in Pakistan.”
The Saudi Passport & Immigration chairman said the Makkah Route initiative was launched to enable pilgrims to complete immigration procedures before arriving in the Kingdom.
“Pakistan is one of the countries benefiting from this initiative and today, we are opening a second airport (Jinnah International Airport in Karachi) under the initiative,” he said.
The initiative, launched in 2019, has so far been implemented in five countries including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.
The South Asian country expects more than 60 percent of pilgrims performing Hajj this year to benefit from the initiative. People opting for the private Hajj scheme can also avail the facility, given the tour operators providing them services have contacted the Pakistani religious ministry for the purpose, according to authorities.
Saudi Arabia last year restored Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and abolished the upper age limit of 65 years. More than 81,000 Pakistani pilgrims performed Hajj under the government scheme in 2023, while the rest used private tour operators.
This year’s pilgrimage is expected to run from June 14 till June 19.

Topics: Makkah Route initiative Karachi airport Pakistan Saudi Ties Hajj 2024 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims

Pakistan’s minister vows to ‘accelerate’ privatization of state-owned assets ahead of IMF talks

Updated 12 May 2024
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Pakistan’s minister vows to ‘accelerate’ privatization of state-owned assets ahead of IMF talks

  • Among main entities, Pakistan is pushing to privatize its national carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines
  • Muhammad Aurangzeb confirms IMF team has arrived in Pakistan for talks next week on new loan program
Updated 12 May 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday vowed to accelerate privatization of state-owned entities (SOEs) in Pakistan as Islamabad gears up to hold crucial talks for a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week.
Under the last $3 billion bailout package from the IMF that was critical in averting a sovereign debt default last year, the lender has said SOEs whose losses are burning a hole in government finances would need stronger governance. Pakistan is now negotiating with the IMF for a larger, longer program for which it must implement an ambitious reforms agenda, including the privatization of debt-ridden SOEs.
Among the main entities Pakistan is pushing to privatize is its national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The government is putting on the block a stake ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent.
Aurangzeb confirmed that an IMF mission had arrived in the country and Islamabad would discuss next week the contours of another loan program with the team.
“We will take this forward and there will also be public-private sector partnership in it,” Aurangzeb said about the privatization of SOEs at a pre-budget conference in Lahore. “We will accelerate the privatization agenda.”
The finance minister said he and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar were on the “same wavelength” that there are no strategic SOEs.
“After a meeting tomorrow, we will go back to these ministries to say, ‘Hand over all of these [assets] to the private sector,’” he said.
Aurangzeb said investors’ confidence in the country’s economy was improving and credited the government’s policies for the positive outcome.
Pakistan needed structural reforms and the business community should be made a part of the tax net like the salaried class, he added.
Pakistan’s key stock index crossed the 73,000 mark on Friday to close the weekend trading session at an all-time high, as investors banked on renewed hopes of an interest rate cut and improving economic indicators in the country.
Pakistan saw one of the highest inflation regimes last year, with 38 percent inflation recorded in May 2023, which eased to 17.3 percent this April. Pakistani analysts expect a further fall in May, renewing optimism of an interest rate cut from the current 22 percent in the upcoming monetary policy.

Topics: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb International Monetary Fund

Government in Azad Kashmir invites protesters for talks after violent clashes

Updated 12 May 2024
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Government in Azad Kashmir invites protesters for talks after violent clashes

  • Government has exercised restraint despite one cop getting killed, multiple injured in clashes, spokesperson says
  • Clashes broke out in parts of Azad Kashmir on Saturday after protesters demanded cheaper wheat flour, electricity
Updated 12 May 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir on Sunday invited protesters for talks, a day after demonstrators demanding subsidized wheat flour and cheaper electricity clashed with police, resulting in one cop getting killed and multiple injured. 
The clashes erupted between police and supporters of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in various parts of Azad Kashmir on Saturday. One cop was killed when he succumbed to a gunshot wound to the chest while at least 90 were injured in the clashes. The protests turned violent when police attempted to stop a rally headed for Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabad via Kotli and Poonch districts. 
JAAC representatives said protesters are demanding the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost in Azad Kashmir, subsidized wheat flour, and an end to privileges enjoyed by the country’s elite.
“The situation is currently peaceful and under control, and we are trying to settle issues through talks,” Abdul Majid Khan, a spokesperson of the Azad Kashmir government who is also its finance minister, told Arab News. 
“We have invited the action committee to come and sit with us for dialogue on all their demands.”
Khan warned that no one would be allowed to take the law into their hands, emphasizing that the government has exercised significant restraint as it recognizes that traders are also patriotic residents of the self-governed area. 

The minister said the government had exercised restraint despite protesters killing a police officer and injuring another 35 others in Mirpur yesterday (Saturday).
“While no civilian death is reported so far, there is one incident where a protester fell in a ditch while escaping from police but he was also rescued,” Khan said. He lamented that protesters also set fire to three vehicles before police used limited tear gas to disperse them.
Khan said the government has engaged in dialogue with JAAC before, adding that while some issues were resolved, others are related to legislation but work has already begun on addressing them. 
“The government has signed an agreement with the action committee on February 4, 2024, which contained 10 points out of which six have already been implemented and work on the remaining is ongoing as it involved legislation and cooperation of Pakistan’s federal government,” he added.
Khan said JAAC had later added a few more demands to the earlier agreement. 
“In Pakistan, the domestic rate of electricity is around Rs30 per unit whereas in AJK, it is Rs18 per unit,” the minister said. “Additionally, Pakistan’s electricity bill incurs around 10 types of taxes, while AJK’s bill has only four taxes.”
Khan said the government is providing wheat in Azad Kashmir at Rs3,100 [$11.16] per 40kg which is already heavily subsidized and cheaper than in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province, where wheat is primarily produced.
He warned protesters against playing into the hands of Pakistan’s arch-rival India. 
“As there are elections ongoing in a neighboring country [India] and they will also like to benefit from the situation in Azad Kashmir if it is not peaceful,” he added.
The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since 1947 when the two countries gained independence from British colonial India. Two out of the three wars fought between the arch-rivals have been over Kashmir. 
Both countries claim the territory in full but administer parts of it. The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity.
JAAC core committee member Amjad Ali Khan accused the government of deviating from the February agreement, alleging it had withdrawn the notification after issuing it earlier this year.
“The government signed an agreement with us in February, issued a notification about it, and then reneged on the agreement,” he told Arab News. 
He said the government compelled people to protest as it had not listened to their legitimate demands. 
“Our core committee is meeting today to decide on the future course of action, and we will act accordingly regarding the future of talks with the government,” the JAAC activist said.

Topics: azad kashmir Protests

After shock defeat, Pakistan face Ireland in second T20I in Dublin today

Updated 12 May 2024
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After shock defeat, Pakistan face Ireland in second T20I in Dublin today

  • Ireland dealt massive blow to Pakistan on Friday when it beat visitors by five wickets
  • Fast bowler Mohammad Amir expected to feature in today’s match against Ireland 
Updated 12 May 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan cricket team will have its hands full with a confident Ireland squad today, Sunday, when it takes the field against the minnows for the second T20I of the series after suffering a shock defeat on Friday. 

Ireland beat Pakistan for the first time in a T20I fixture in the series opener on Friday, courtesy of a heroic 77-run knock by Andy Balbirnie that helped the home side win by five wickets against Babar Azam’s squad. 

The defeat was a blow for the South Asian squad as it prepares for the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled to take place from June 2 in the United States and West Indies, by playing separate cricket series against Ireland and England. 

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Dublin on Saturday to hold meetings with the team to boost their morale ahead of the second T20I. 

“Immediately after arriving, he [Naqvi] held meetings with the team captain and coach,” the PCB said in a statement on Saturday. “He will also meet the team later today.”

Pakistan are most likely to play left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir in the playing XI against Ireland today. The bowler could not play the first T20I against Ireland as he arrived in the country on Friday due to visa delays. 

After the Ireland series, Pakistan will travel to England to play a four-match series against the home side from May 22-30 in Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and London before departing for the US for the mega event. 

Pakistan will begin their World Cup campaign against the United States on June 6 before taking on arch-rivals India in a high-octane clash on June 9 in New York. 

Squads:

Ireland: Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir (unavailable for first T20I), Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan

Topics: Pakistan v Ireland

Pakistan deputy PM to head to China on Monday for talks on trade, economic cooperation

Updated 12 May 2024
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Pakistan deputy PM to head to China on Monday for talks on trade, economic cooperation

  • Deputy PM Ishaq Dar to co-chair strategic dialogue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, says state media
  • Beijing has been one of Islamabad’s most reliable partners in recent years, providing financial aid to its fragile economy
Updated 12 May 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will leave for China next week to hold important discussions on bilateral trade, cooperation and upgradation of multi-billion-dollar infrastructure corridor, state-run media reported on Sunday. 

Beijing has been one of Islamabad’s most reliable foreign partners in recent years, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor. In July last year, China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.

Dar will leave for Beijing on Monday for a four-day official trip during which he would also co-chair the 5th Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

“The two sides will comprehensively review Pakistan-China bilateral relations including economic and trade cooperation, high-level exchanges and visits; upgradation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and future connectivity initiatives,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said. 

China has invested over $65 billion in energy and infrastructure projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project is part of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC is designed to provide China with a shorter and safer trading route to the Middle East and beyond through Pakistan. 

Since its initiation in 2013, CPEC has seen tens of billions of dollars funneled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects. But the undertaking has also been hit by Pakistan struggling to keep up its financial obligations as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants.

“They will also exchange views on the unfolding regional geopolitical landscape and bilateral cooperation at the multilateral fora,” the state-run media reported. 

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Dar’s visit to the country reflects the importance the two countries attach to deepening their “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.”

Dar’s visit to China takes place in the backdrop of Pakistan’s moves to seek foreign investment from its allies as it tries to navigate an economic crisis that has seen its reserves dip to low levels and its currency weaken against the dollar. 

Islamabad has seen visits by diplomatic and business delegations from Saudi Arabia, Japan and Uzbekistan in recent weeks. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to ensure an enabling business environment in Pakistan for foreign investors and traders. 

Topics: Ishaq Dar

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