KARACHI: Passengers traveling to the United Arab Emirates will be able to get themselves tested for COVID-19 at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport from Saturday, Dr. Farhan Essa Abdullah, the chief executive of Essa Laboratory & Diagnostic Center, told Arab News on Thursday.
“The testing facility at the airport in Karachi will become functional in record time and start working from Saturday,” he said, adding his organization would employ 150 people to serve all UAE-bound passengers from 24 counters.
“It is a joint effort of Essa Laboratory, airline services and airport authorities,” he added.
The UAE lifted a ban on transit passenger traffic from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries on August 5, though it required passengers traveling from these countries to present negative rapid PCR tests taken less than four hours before their departure.
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had earlier maintained the country did not have enough resources to conduct these tests, adding that only rapid antigen testing facility was currently available at the country’s airports.
Speaking to Arab News, CAA spokesperson Ismail Khoso said laboratories were selected by airlines according to the requirements of their respective destinations.
“CAA will provide all possible facilities to the selected laboratories at all the international airports of the country,” he added.
Khoso told Arab News a day earlier the CAA had started installing rapid PCR testing facilities for passengers traveling to the UAE from Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi.
The rapid PCR test can determine a COVID-19 case even before a person becomes infectious, making it possible to isolate such individuals on time. Other tests detect viral proteins, revealing the patient’s condition at the peak of the infection.
“Different laboratories have informed [us] that they have procured rapid PCR testing machines and will be able to install them at airports within the next few days,” Khoso said on Wednesday. “We are also in touch with the foreign ministry to get relaxation from the UAE government.”
Sialkot International Airport is the only place in Pakistan that has installed the facility until now.
“We are working along the same lines [as Sialkot] and have asked airlines and UAE-approved labs to install rapid PCR testing machines at our major airports,” he said.
However, he added the process required more effort since other airports were bigger than the one in Sialkot and catered to hundreds of UAE-bound passengers every day.
Sialkot introduced the testing facility on Monday as an initiative by local businessmen.
The airport itself has the distinction of being the first privately owned public airport in Pakistan, built through funding and efforts by the business community of the city.
Along with the nearby cities of Gujranwala and Gujrat, Sialkot forms part of the so-called “Golden Triangle” of Pakistan’s industrial cities with export-oriented economies.
Rapid PCR testing facility at Karachi airport to help UAE-bound passengers from Saturday
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Rapid PCR testing facility at Karachi airport to help UAE-bound passengers from Saturday
- The United Arab Emirates recently lifted a travel ban from Pakistan and other countries, though it made the rapid PCR test mandatory for travelers
- Sialkot International Airport is the only place in Pakistan that has installed the facility until now
Pakistan approves first national gemstones policy, targets $1 billion exports
- Government seeks to overhaul certification, mining, processing to curb smuggling and boost value-added exports
- Move follows broader push to tap Pakistan’s vast mineral wealth and attract much-needed foreign investment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has granted in-principle approval to its first national policy framework for gemstones and precious stones, aiming to reform the sector, align it with international standards and lift annual exports to $1 billion within five years, the prime minister’s office said on Friday.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which reviewed reforms for the largely underdeveloped gemstones sector despite Pakistan holding significant reserves of emeralds, rubies, sapphires, peridot and topaz.
The move comes as Pakistan intensifies efforts to monetize its untapped mineral resources amid fiscal pressures and an IMF-backed reform program. Over the past two years, Islamabad has hosted international minerals conferences and signed cooperation agreements with countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia and China to improve governance, attract foreign investment and move up the value chain in mining and minerals processing.
Despite officials estimating Pakistan’s gemstone reserves at around $450 billion, formal exports remain negligible, at about $5.8 million annually, due to weak certification systems, limited domestic processing capacity, widespread smuggling and fragmented regulation across federal and provincial authorities.
“Sharif has granted in-principle approval to a national policy framework to reform Pakistan’s gemstones and precious stones sector and align it with international standards,” the PM’s office said in a statement.
“The Ministry of Industries and Commerce, after identifying challenges during the preparation of the national policy framework, has developed a comprehensive set of priority policy measures which aim to achieve $1 billion in gemstone-related exports within five years through sectoral reforms.”
According to the statement, the policy framework includes geological mapping to accurately assess reserves, the establishment of internationally accredited laboratories and certification regimes and the creation of a dedicated authority to regulate and promote the sector. The government also plans to set up a National Warranty Office and at least two centers of excellence this year to support training, research and value-added processing.
The policy prioritizes private sector participation, particularly encouraging young entrepreneurs, and seeks to shift Pakistan away from exporting raw stones toward domestic cutting, polishing and branding. The statement said this approach could significantly increase export earnings while generating skilled jobs.
The prime minister also directed the ministry of finance to ensure timely allocation of financial resources required to implement the reforms and stressed the need to involve provincial governments, industry stakeholders and international experts to address structural bottlenecks.
“Pakistani precious stones are renowned globally for their quality, and curbing smuggling while ensuring exports through legal channels will secure billions of dollars in foreign exchange,” the prime minister said, according to the statement.
