ISLAMABAD: Pakistan government has allowed businessmen to import tomatoes from neighboring Iran to meet increasing demand at home and to control the skyrocketing price of the commodity in the local market.
“The tomatoes import from Iran is allowed for three to four weeks to meet the shortage,” Muhammad Ameer Sultan, Parliamentary Secretary for National Food Security and Research, told Arab News on Friday.
Tomato is one of the major staples in Pakistan and its recent shortage and resultant price hike in the market has fueled public protests and criticism of the government. This has prompted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to allow import of the commodity from neighboring country which is otherwise struggling to discourage imports to bring down the ballooning trade and current account deficits.
Sultan said that the tomato crop arrival has been delayed in Sindh and Balochistan provinces due to cold weather while Punjab’s production has already hit the market. “This is a temporary shortage … the import from Iran will help bring down the commodity’s prices in the market,” he said.
He expected the imported tomatoes would reach Pakistani vegetables markets in the next few days. He also clarified that Pakistan had not been importing tomatoes from India since 2017 due to a ‘disease’ in the produce, which could harm the local crop seed.
“This is a misconception. We weren’t importing tomatoes from India even when the bilateral trade was open,” he said.
The tomatoes price shot up in the market in recent days owing to the acute shortage of the produce and it is being sold as high as Rs300 ($1.93) per kilogram in different parts of the country. The official price of one kilogram of tomatoes on average in major cities is calculated to be Rs164 ($1.05), according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The government has not set any exact quota or quantity of tomatoes to be imported from Iran, the parliamentary secretary said, adding that the import would end automatically after the arrival of the new crop in the market by early December.
Iran has been under the US economic sanctions for its controversial nuclear program that has inhibited Pakistan and other countries to establish trade and economic relationship with the Islamic Republic. Islamabad therefore has no legal banking channel with Tehran for payments against any import or export. The volume of bilateral trade between the two countries stands around mere $400 million per annum.
“The US sanctions don’t apply on trade related to food items,” the parliamentary secretary said, “we have been doing barter trade with Iran for vegetables and fruits only.”
Iranian tomatoes arrive in Pakistan to meet demand gap
Iranian tomatoes arrive in Pakistan to meet demand gap
- Says the US sanctions don’t apply on trade related to food items
- The import will be for about four weeks to meet the shortage in local market, official says
Pakistan air chief highlights modernization as PAF marks seven years since India aerial clash
- Swift Retort was launched in 2019 after India attempted airstrikes following a Kashmir suicide bombing
- Air chief’s remarks come amid fierce clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militancy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s air chief said on Friday the country’s air force had undertaken “comprehensive modernization and indigenization” in recent years, as he addressed a ceremony at Air Headquarters to mark seven years since an aerial confrontation with India.
Operation Swift Retort was launched on Feb. 27, 2019, a day after India attempted airstrikes inside Pakistan following a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary troops.
Pakistan responded with aerial strikes across the Line of Control and shot down an Indian fighter jet in a subsequent dogfight, capturing one pilot who was later returned in what Islamabad called a gesture of de-escalation.
“PAF has pursued comprehensive modernization and indigenization to transition into a Next Generation Air Force,” Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu said, according to a statement circulated by the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations.
He added that the force had recalibrated its operational doctrine and rapidly inducted advanced combat and support capabilities, including indigenously developed unmanned systems, electronic warfare, space and cyber assets, establishing what he described as a “home-grown multi-domain kill chain.”
Sidhu said Pakistan remained committed to peace but would respond decisively to violations of its sovereignty.
“Pakistan is a responsible country which desires peace with honor,” he continued.
The remarks come amid renewed security tensions on Pakistan’s western frontier.
Islamabad earlier this week launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan targeting what it described as hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militants. Afghan authorities condemned the strikes and subsequently launched their own military response that led to fierce clashes between the two sides overnight.
Pakistan has frequently accused Kabul of allowing militant groups to use Afghan territory to carry out cross-border attacks on Pakistani civilians and security forces, an allegation denied by Afghan officials.
Pakistani authorities said earlier in the day small drones launched from the Afghan side were intercepted and brought down by the country’s air defense systems.
Sidhu said the PAF would continue to maintain a vigilant yet responsible defense posture to safeguard national sovereignty.
