ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition leader and former cricket star who has set his hopes on becoming the country’s next prime minister unveiled Monday his party’s ‘manifesto’ ahead of this month’s parliamentary elections.
Imran Khan is promising 10 million new jobs, better health and education facilities if he wins the July 25 vote. Titled “Road to New Pakistan,” the manifesto is similar to other ambitious past pledges by political parties that ended up unable to make good on them.
But Khan told reporters in Islamabad he was only making commitments that he believes can be implemented — including tackling the widespread poverty by turning Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state.
“An easy solution to the problems that Pakistan is faced with does not exist,” he said.
Khan also used the venue to criticize former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was sentenced last week in absentia by an anti-graft tribunal to 10 years in prison over purchases of luxury apartments in London.
Sharif, who is in London with his ailing wife, has promised to return to Pakistan.
Khan asserted that Sharif indulged in corruption and promised to ensure justice for all and improve the country’s ailing economy.
The same court that sentenced Sharif also sentenced his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, to seven years in absentia in a case stemming from documents leaked from a Panama law firm. Her husband, Mohammad Safdar, was sentenced to one year for giving false information to investigators.
Safdar, who was formally arrested on Sunday, was sent to prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday.
Analysts say Pakistan will likely have a coalition government after the elections, as no single political party is expected to get a two-third majority in parliament. Any party that gets a simple majority in the 351-seat house can form the government.
Pakistan opposition leader Khan unveils plan for elections
Pakistan opposition leader Khan unveils plan for elections
- Imran Khan promises 10 million new jobs, better health and education facilities if he wins the July 25 vote
- Analysts say Pakistan will likely have a coalition government after the elections, as no single political party is expected to get a two-third majority in parliament
Pakistan to export halal meat worth $14.5 million to Tajikistan
- Effective trade facilitation can increase bilateral Pakistan-Tajikistan trade to $300 million, says state media
- PM Shehbaz Sharif approved Pakistan’s halal meat policy earlier this month in bid to boost meat exports
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will export 143,000 tons of halal meat to Tajikistan worth $14.5 million in the near future, state media reported on Tuesday amid Islamabad’s efforts to bolster trade with Central Asian countries.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, earlier this month, approved Pakistan’s halal meat policy that aims to boost Islamabad’s meat exports to Muslim states.
In a high-level meeting on Dec. 24, Federal Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain said Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Gulf countries are ready to import Pakistani fresh meat and rice. The minister said Tajikistan has expressed the demand to import nearly 100,000 tons of meat from Pakistan.
“According to details, Pakistan will export one hundred and forty-three thousand tons of halal meat to Tajikistan, valued at 14.5 million dollars,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
It did not, however, specify a timeline as to when Islamabad planned to export the halal meat items to the Central Asian nation.
The state media said that effective trade facilitation will increase bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan to $300 million, strengthening regional economic integration.
Pakistan has recently attempted to increase its halal meat exports to other Muslim countries such as Malaysia. Both countries announced they had agreed to a $200 million halal meat trade quota during Sharif’s visit to Malaysia in October.
A 2024 report by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) mentioned that the country exported meat worth $512 million in 2024, which included beef, mutton and poultry.
According to the PBS, the UAE remained Pakistan’s top meat export market in 2024 with exports to the Gulf nation reaching $201 million. Meanwhile, meat exports to Saudi Arabia recorded a growth of 65.1 percent last year valued at $141 million.
