KARACHI: Pakistan will enter Amazon’s approved sellers list before next month, the commerce ministry has said, warning the nation’s sellers they would be blacklisted not only by Amazon but also within the country if found guilty of fraudulent activity.
The ministry has been working with the global e-commerce giant since June 2020 to have sellers from the South Asian nation included in its network which already covers 102 countries. To date, Pakistani users have sold their products on Amazon through shadow accounts registered in other countries.
“Listing of Pakistan at Amazon is just a matter of 3 to 4 days,” Aisha Humera, a spokesperson for the ministry of commerce, told Arab News on Wednesday. “Will be done before June.”
She added: “At present we are working on our procedures, including changes in the foreign exchange manual of the State bank of Pakistan.”
Humera said Pakistan’s Amazon entry will come with zero tolerance for fraud.
“We are coordinating with Amazon and any seller, if found guilty of fraud etc., will not only be blocked but also be blacklisted in Pakistan so that they could not work with any other company for tarnishing the image of Pakistan,” she said. “The sellers will have only one chance to get connected with 300 million customers at a single click. If anyone wastes this opportunity by doing anything wrong, Amazon will block that seller and there will be no second chance.”
While businesses can use couriers of their choice, the ministry has proposed that state-owned Pakistan Post set up dedicated desks for the export of small parcels at it has over 13,000 offices across the country. The commerce ministry had also proposed that Pakistan Post be integrated with the country’s Web Based One Customs (WeBOC) to facilitate Amazon sellers under business-to-consumer (B2C) cross border mechanisms.
It is also trying to have the post office offer competitive rates to e-commerce businesses, especially small and medium enterprises.
“The Ministry of commerce is engaging Pakistan Post in this initiative to give competitive rates to the sellers,” Humera said. “If they had to deliver the goods to the warehouses of Amazon for instance in Dubai, US or Canada, they should get good rates.”
Pakistan to enter Amazon’s sellers list this month — commerce ministry
https://arab.news/juz6v
Pakistan to enter Amazon’s sellers list this month — commerce ministry
- Ministry says instances of fraud would result in companies being blacklisted not only by Amazon but also within Pakistan
- State-run Pakistan Post urged to facilitate e-commerce with dedicated desks, offer “competitive rates” for small and medium businesses
Pakistan working to repatriate 15 sailors from Iran’s Bandar Abbas amid regional conflict
- Pakistan’s envoy to Tehran says mission working to repatriate the sailors within a day
- Stranded sailors circulated video saying they were advised to move to a safer location
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s envoy to Iran said on Tuesday the country was working to repatriate 15 Pakistani sailors from Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, as regional tensions escalate due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Ambassador Muhammad Mudassir Tipu said the Pakistani mission was in contact with the crew, their families and their parent company in Pakistan after a video circulating online showed a seafarer appealing for assistance.
“We are in contact with our sailors (15 in number) who are on a ship in Bandar Abbas,” Tipu wrote on X. “We are in contact with their families as well as their parent company in Pakistan. We are making every possible effort for their repatriation to Pakistan. It will hopefully be done by today or at most tomorrow.”
In a video shared earlier in the day, a man identifying himself as Mujtaba Ali from Mardan said he was working on a merchant navy vessel docked in the key port city of Bandar Abbas and that the crew had been advised to move to a safer location.
Pakistan has urged de-escalation in the region and has previously advised its nationals to remain in contact with diplomatic missions during periods of instability.
The ambassador did not specify the mechanism for the sailors’ evacuation but said efforts were underway to secure their safe return home.
