ISLAMABAD: In talks held in Islamabad on Monday, representatives from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called on the international community to further the cause of Afghan refugees and provide means to end future displacement.
The sixth edition of the Quadripartite Steering Committee meeting, held every year, saw the participation of Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi, Afghanistan’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) and Shehryar Afridi, Pakistan’s Minister of States and Frontier Regions.
The Iranian side was represented by Hossein Zolfaghari, Deputy Minister of Interior for Security and Disciplinary Affairs, while Indrika Ratwatte, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, was speaking on behalf of the UNHCR.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the progress and challenges of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) which aims to support host countries by providing voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration.
“All parties reaffirmed their commitment to the SSAR and agreed to extend it until 2021...for identifying and implementing solutions for Afghan refugees,” the UNHCR said in a statement released on Monday.
All parties reiterated their support for joint advocacy and resource mobilization to support the strategy. “The participants urged development actors and other partners to provide adequate, tangible assistance for the SSAR,” the statement read.
The groups also called for joint efforts to create a conducive environment for a gradual, phased and voluntary return and sustainable reintegration of refugees in Afghanistan, in addition to aiding host communities, such as Iran and Pakistan, for the purpose.
Afridi, for his part, appealed to the international community to allocate more funds for the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) program. He also urged for concerted efforts for development inside Afghanistan which could lure refugees to return home.
Recognizing Pakistan’s contribution in hosting Afghan refugees for the past 40 years, Balkhi said that due to a large number of migrants in Pakistan and Iran – and due to insecurity in Afghanistan – the SSAR has not been able to reach its goals.
“The need for SSAR continues to exist and I, therefore, call on the extension of the SSAR time frame,” he said.
Four-party meet in Islamabad seeks world’s attention for Afghan refugees
Four-party meet in Islamabad seeks world’s attention for Afghan refugees
- Representatives call for joint advocacy and resource mobilization
- Push for an extension of timeframe to realize goals set by group
Omani consul general, Pakistani businessmen discuss diversifying exports, enhancing bilateral trade
- Omani consul general leads delegation to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Volume of trade between Oman and Pakistan needs to be enhanced, says KCCI president
KARACHI: Oman’s Consul General Sami Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari on Wednesday held discussions with Pakistani businessmen focused on diversifying exports from the South Asian country to the Gulf nation and increasing bilateral trade, a statement from the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said.
Like all Gulf countries, Pakistan enjoys cordial relations rooted in shared faith, culture and history with Oman. The South Asian country also has strong defense and economic ties with Oman.
Khanjari led a delegation comprising the vice consul general of Oman’s consulate, Abdullah Jumah Al Harbi, and other Omani government officials from various ministries in a meeting with Pakistani businessmen and traders at the KCCI’s office on Wednesday.
“Oman has been importing rice from Pakistan since 1982 and we highly appreciate Pakistan for providing best quality rice,” Khanjari was quoted as saying by the KCCI.
“But we would like to see more Pakistani products including several other agricultural products, sugar, textiles, towels and other good quality products being exported to Oman,” he added.
He urged Karachi’s business community to look into exporting agricultural products to Oman such as onions, lentils, mangoes and potatoes to the Gulf country.
Khanjari urged Karachi’s business community to highlight any obstacles that hinder smooth trade with Oman so that they could be removed. He called for holding more exhibitions in the two countries so that their business communities could interact more and explore possibilities for expanding trade.
“Keeping in view the trade potential, the Omani officials expressed the interest of regularly visiting Pakistan every year so that potential products being manufactured here could be exported to Oman,” the KCCI said.
KCCI President Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh noted that Pakistan’s exports to Oman totaled around $166 million during the first nine months of the current financial year while last year, Pakistan exported $193 million worth of goods to the Gulf country.
“Despite brotherly relationships and immense bilateral trade potential, the volume of trade is low which needs to be enhanced to a reasonable level,” Sheikh said.
He said both countries need to reduce trade barriers, diversify their range of products, simplify customs procedures, promote small and medium enterprises, and foster business collaboration to give a much-needed trade boost for “economic integration.”
The KCCI president noted how the oil and gas sector was the driving force of Oman’s economy while Pakistan faces significant energy sector challenges that impact its economy adversely.
“Importing LNG & petroleum products from Oman at discounted rates or through deferred payments, via government-to-government arrangement, could assist Pakistan in resolving its energy and industrial needs & help in reviving economic growth,” Sheikh said.
Pakistan appoints Dubai-based climber Naila Kiani goodwill ambassador for girls education
- Kiani is the first Pakistani woman climber to summit 11 of 14 highest peaks in the world
- As ambassador, she will raise awareness, support government initiatives for girls education
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s education ministry has appointed prominent mountaineer Naila Kiani as its goodwill ambassador for girls education in the country, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Wednesday.
Dubai-based Kiani is the first Pakistani woman and the third climber from the country to summit 11 of the 14 highest peaks in the world. She is also the first Pakistani woman to summit Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I (G-I), Gasherbrum II (G-II), Lhotse, Manaslu, Broad Peak, Annapurna, Makalu, and Cho Oyu mountains.
Pakistan’s government awarded Kiani the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, the highest civilian honor in the country, earlier this year for her notable achievements. It makes Kiani the only Pakistani woman to have received the award so far.
“I am honored to be appointed as the National Goodwill Ambassador for Girls Education,” Kiani was quoted as saying by the APP.
“Education is the only route to women’s empowerment and success for our country. I am committed to using my platform to support and advocate for educational initiatives that ensure every girl in Pakistan has access to quality education,” she added.
As an ambassador, Kiani will work tirelessly to raise awareness about the importance of girls education, APP said. It said Kiani would also support and promote initiatives by the federal and provincial governments aimed at improving educational opportunities for girls.
Earlier this month, she became the first Pakistani woman to summit Mount Makalu in Nepal. The imposing mountain is the fifth-highest one in the world. It stands 8,485 meters (27,838 feet) high.
‘Missing’ poet in police custody, Pakistan attorney general says in case spotlighting enforced disappearances
- Ahmed Shah Farhad went “missing” from Islamabad residence on May 14 following social media posts critical of army
- His family has accused ISI spy agency of being behind his kidnapping, army says it does not suppress critical voices
ISLAMABAD: A Kashmiri poet and journalist who was reported “missing” by his wife earlier this month is in the custody of police in the Azad Kashmir region, Attorney-General Mansoor Usman Awan told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday.
Ahmed Shah Farhad went missing from his Islamabad residence on May 14, prompting his wife to accuse Pakistan’s top spy agency, the military-backed Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of abducting him and filing a petition with the IHC for her husband to be recovered.
The army has not commented on the development, but it has repeatedly said in the past it does not suppress critical voices. Before his abduction, Farhad had criticized Pakistan’s powerful military in social media posts regarding unprecedented protests held in Azad Kashmir earlier this month.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Duggal and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar appeared before the court to present the state’s case.
“AGP Awan informed the court that Shah was in police custody and presented the police report to the court,” the English-language newspaper Dawn reported on comments that were widely reported in Pakistani media.
Farhad’s case has once more put a spotlight on enforced disappearances in Pakistan in which families say people picked up by security forces often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani security agencies deny involvement in such disappearances.
A complaint filed by the police at the Dhirkot Police Station in Azad Kashmir and seen by Arab News said Farhad was arrested by police on Wednesday morning as he tried to leave for his ancestral village in Kashmir from Islamabad.
The complaint said police stopped Farhad’s car at 07:00 a.m. near Kohala bridge in Azad Kashmir to ask for identification following which he misbehaved with police officers and abused them. Farhad was subsequently arrested for interfering in the government’s affairs under section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the complaint said, a provision in law that deals with intentionally hampering, misleading, jeopardizing or defeating an investigation, inquiry or prosecution.
Rights organizations have frequently accused Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies of illegally detaining and torturing dissenters without any explanation or following due process of law. The military and intelligence agencies deny involvement in such acts.
Pakistani industrialists urge government to tackle high energy prices, interest rate in budget 2024-25
- Pakistan’s finance minister expected to unveil federal budget next week, shed light on priorities to address fiscal challenges
- Pakistan has hiked fuel and energy prices over past two years in line with reforms recommended by International Monetary Fund
KARACHI: Highlighting exorbitant energy costs, a high interest rate, and multiple taxations as major hurdles to industrial growth, Pakistan’s leading body of industrialists and traders on Wednesday said it hoped the government would address these challenges next week when it unveils the federal budget.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is expected to unveil budget 2024-25 next week in the parliament. The document will outline the government’s financial plans and allocations across various sectors. The budget will also shed light on Pakistan’s economic priorities, potential reforms and strategies to address pressing fiscal challenges.
The development takes place as the South Asian country grapples with an economic crisis that has seen its reserves plummet, national currency decline in value significantly against the US dollar, and inflation surge.
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), the apex representative body of Pakistani traders and industrials in the country, said it has submitted budget proposals to the government, adding that it expects 80 percent of its demands to be met.
“We have collected all the information from our trade bodies, from all the chambers and we have made the proposals and we have already sent them to the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue), Ministry of Finance and the other departments,” Atif Ikram Sheikh, the FPCCI’s president, told Arab News on Tuesday.
Sheikh said the FPCCI has invited the government’s attention toward major issues that industrialists and traders in Pakistan encounter, such as exorbitant energy costs, taxation and the prevailing high interest rate.
He said these issues were not making it “bearable” to run industries in Pakistan.
“So we want the government to reduce interest rates, energy costs like fuel prices, gas and electricity and to run the economy in a better way,” Sheikh explained.
Pakistan has hiked prices of fuel and energy as part of reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a $3 billion loan program last year.
Pakistan increased gas charges by 318.74 percent and electricity charges by 71.12 percent since April 2023, as per official data. Surging energy costs took inflation to a historic high of 38 percent in May 202, which gradually eased to 17.3 percent in April 2024.
Pakistan’s central bank has projected the annual average inflation in the range of 23– 25 percent for the current fiscal year against a target of 21 percent.
The country’s finance minister expects inflation to decrease to 13.5-14.5 percent range in May 2024 and decline further to 12.5-13.5 percent by June 24.
Industrialists want the government to slash the interest rate, which has made the cost of borrowing high in Pakistan. The central bank has cumulatively raised the policy rate by 1,500 basis points during FY22 and FY23 and has maintained it at 22 percent at present.
Pakistan’s finance ministry said on Wednesday it expects a “promising” economic outlook amid improving industrial activities.
“The economic outlook is promising as industrial activities are gradually improving, inflation is on a downward trajectory and the external sector is stable,” the finance ministry said in its monthly economic report for May 2024.
The ministry observed that as the fiscal year is about to end, the economic indicators reflect that stability is gaining strength in the real, fiscal and external sectors.
It said Pakistan’s GDP growth is increasing while the inflation rate is on a decline, reflecting the effectiveness of recent fiscal consolidation efforts. The report said the country’s economic performance also reveals that agriculture has been a major contributor to this fiscal year’s economic upswing, attributed to government-led initiatives that enhanced input supply and credit disbursements.
The FPCCI has demanded a reduction in import duties and sales tax on various items. The body has also demanded a revival of the zero rating of sales tax for five export-oriented sectors, namely sports, surgical, leather, textiles, and carpets.
“We are sure and expecting what we are sending, what we have requested to the government, they will consider the FPCCI’s proposals,” Sheikh said.
“And I am sure 80 percent of our demands will be fulfilled.”
Pakistan’s oil and gas regulator denies report of impending gas system collapse due to pressure issues
- OGRA chief says the gas transmission across the country is monitored and controlled through real-time management system
- A local media report said Pakistan’s gas transmission system was on the verge of collapse due to line pack pressure
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) of Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed a media report claiming the country’s gas transmission system was on the verge of collapse due to excessive pressure that has crossed the critical threshold of 4.07 billion cubic feet (bcf) for a host of technical reasons.
According to a report in The News International, the line pack pressure, which reflects the volume of gas within the pipeline, remains dangerously high at 5.08 bcf, warning that Pakistan’s gas transmission system could burst at any time, creating a major gas availability crisis.
However, the top OGRA official called the report “exaggerated,” saying the authorities had been using an effective Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor and control the gas flow across the country.
“Media reports are exaggerated as the system was put in place to save the distribution lines from any damage by real-time management of the flow of gas,” OGRA Chairman Masroor Ahmed told Arab News.
“We have the SCADA system installed for the distribution which works on a real-time basis and it keeps on recording the situation of distribution which is managed accordingly,” he added.
SCADA systems enable industries to monitor and control equipment to improve their operational efficiency. In the distribution network, the function of a SCADA system is to monitor and control distribution sectors, optimize overall network efficiency and enhance system reliability and sustainability.
Ahmed said gas inflow into the pipeline could never be random or unchecked, adding it was also kept within the capacity limits as a principle.
“Molecules are put in the pipelines with calculations,” he informed. “They cannot be random without any system and measurement of the capacity.”
He added if the line cannot sustain a certain pressure, it is not given transmission volume above that.
“That is also the whole idea of having a SCADA system,” he said.
