ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Friday temporarily closed a major university following overnight armed clashes between rival groups that left one student dead and several others wounded.
Police said the decision to close the International Islamic University was made by university administrators to avoid more clashes.
Authorities have deployed additional police to the campus to avoid further violence.
The decision came after clashes Thursday night in which both sides used batons and guns, spreading panic among students and prompting parents to ask their children to leave the hostels at the campus for their safety.
Police said the fighting was sparked when two groups of students disagreed over the organizing of a book exhibition. But the melee came amid a broader campaign by students across the country to lift a decades-long ban on peaceful political activities at educational institutions.
Slain student Syed Tufail belonged to the student wing of a radical Islamic party.
Authorities close Pakistani university after student killed
https://arab.news/4zzrn
Authorities close Pakistani university after student killed
- The decision was taken by university administrators to avoid more clashes
- Thursday's violence spread panic among students who left hostels for their safety
Pakistan rice exports slump 40% as India’s return hits pricing power
- Statistics show non-Basmati shipments have fallen over 50 percent in July-January period
- Government offers 9 percent tax drawback on premium Basmati exports to support sector
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s rice exports fell 40.5 percent to $1.31 billion in the first seven months of the fiscal year, official data showed on Tuesday, as India’s return to the global market squeezed Islamabad’s market share and pricing power.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), non-Basmati exports dropped 50.8 percent to $827.8 million, with volumes falling to 2.0 million tons from 3.15 million tons a year ago. Basmati exports declined 6.62 percent to $477.7 million, with volumes easing to 436,484 tons from 487,278 tons.
The Ministry of National Food Security told a parliamentary committee in two separate meetings in December and January that India’s re-entry into the global rice market was a key factor behind the decline, saying increased Indian supplies had made Pakistani rice less competitive.
Officials told lawmakers that India benefits from free trade agreements and provides substantial support to its rice sector, putting additional pressure on Pakistani exporters.
In response, the Ministry of Commerce last month issued a notification under the “Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies for Rice Order, 2026,” allowing a rebate of 9 percent of the free-on-board (FOB) value for Basmati exports priced above $750 per metric ton.
The government said the measure, announced on January 23, aims to ease liquidity pressures on exporters and improve competitiveness.
While PBS data for July-January shows a 40.5 percent decline, figures from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for July-December show an even steeper 47 percent drop to $973 million from $1.82 billion in the same period last year, reflecting a deficit of over $800 million.
Industry representatives say they are now focusing on market diversification to counter the slowdown.
“Currently Basmati is mainly exported to Middle East and EU. Non-Basmati is exported to Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and African countries,” Malik Faisal Jahangir, chairman of the Pakistan Rice Exporters Association, told Arab News last week.
“For the new markets for our non-basmati rice exports, we are looking to increase our volumes to China, Philippines, Indonesia and Bangladesh,” he added.
