Pakistan and Turkmenistan agree to fast-track gas pipeline project involving Afghanistan and India

In this handout photograph, taken and released by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on July 23, 2024, Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (R) shakes hands with Rashid Meredov, Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, during his visit to Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: MOFA)
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Updated 25 July 2024
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Pakistan and Turkmenistan agree to fast-track gas pipeline project involving Afghanistan and India

  • TAPI pipeline project was envisaged in the early 1990s and officially agreed upon in December 2010
  • It has been primarily delayed due to security concerns, funding challenges and bureaucratic hurdles

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkmenistan agreed on Wednesday to fast-track a major pipeline project that will allow the Central Asian state to supply natural gas to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan, thereby enhancing economic activity across the region and benefiting all involved countries.
The understanding between the two states was reached during a meeting between Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr. Musadik Malik and Turkmenistan’s Foreign Affairs Rasit Meredow who arrived on a two-day visit to Islamabad on Tuesday.
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline will originate from Galkynysh, the world’s second-biggest gas field, and end at the Indian city of Fazilka near the Pakistan border.
If the project is implemented, it will help Turkmenistan supply about 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas each year along a route covering a distance of over 1,800 kilometers.
According to an official statement released by the Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Division, Pakistan and Turkmenistan are working to “expedite” the pipeline project.
“TAPI pipeline project will lower energy costs, which can boost industrial growth, create jobs and foster economic development,” it quoted Pakistan’s petroleum minister as saying during the meeting. “Reliable and affordable energy supplies are vital for industrial sectors and overall economic stability.”
“This project, aimed at fostering economic integration and energy security, has witnessed substantial progress through collaborative efforts,” he continued, stressing the importance of continued engagement between the two countries.
Malik added Pakistan was fully committed to the project which was vital for regional energy cooperation and infrastructure development.
The visiting dignitary expressed appreciation for the warm welcome extended to his delegation by the Pakistani authorities.
“Together we will chalk out a roadmap for cooperation between both countries,” he added.
The meeting was also attended by the CEO of TAPI Pipeline Company Limited.
Other participants of the meeting emphasized the project’s strategic importance in enhancing regional connectivity, promoting economic growth and meeting the energy demands of participating nations.
The TAPI project was envisaged in the early 1990s and officially agreed upon in December 2010.
It has primarily been delayed due to security concerns, geopolitical tensions, funding challenges and bureaucratic hurdles.


Australia win toss, put Pakistan to bat in first ODI at Melbourne 

Updated 13 sec ago
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Australia win toss, put Pakistan to bat in first ODI at Melbourne 

  • Pakistan head into the match with four pacers in Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf
  • Pakistan will play three ODIs on Nov. 8 and 10 followed by a three-match T20I series on Nov. 14, 16 and 18 in Australia 

ISLAMABAD: Australia won the toss and elected to field first against Pakistan on Monday, as the two sides lock horns today at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the first of the three-match ODI series. 

This is Mohammad Rizwan’s first outing as Pakistan’s white-ball captain. The second ODI between the teams will be played at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Nov. 8 while both teams will travel to Perth where the third ODI will take place on Nov. 10. 

The ODI series will be followed by three-match T20I series, which will be played on Nov. 14, 16 and 18. 

“How are we going to play? I don’t want to follow the world, what the world is doing now but as a group or as a player you’re going to do [I would follow that],” Rizwan said after losing the toss to Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who chose to bowl first. 

“The thing for us is to [figure out] how we can make this into a champion team.”

When asked whether Pakistan had learned from their mistakes during the last 50-over and T20 World Cups in which the green shirts failed to qualify for the semifinals, Rizwan said:

“Always we have to learn from our mistakes, we didn’t do well at the World Cup,” he said.

Both sides last met in the 50-over format during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Oct. 20 where Australia defeated Pakistan by 62 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The last time both sides featured in a bilateral ODI series was in March/April 2022, when Australia visited Pakistan and the hosts won the series 2-1.

For Pakistan, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Saim Ayub are making their debuts today. Khan, 21, has already featured in three T20Is for Pakistan, while he has played 24 List-A matches, scoring one century and three half-centuries. Left-handed opening batter Ayub has been a part of six Tests and 23 T20Is for Pakistan and featured in 35 List-A matches accumulating 1,472 runs with the help of four centuries and seven half-centuries.

With Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head on paternity leave, world champions Australia have a new-look opening partnership in Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short. Veteran Josh Hazlewood has been rested with Sean Abbott joining Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the hosts’ pace attack on an overcast day.

Playing XI:

Australia: 1 Matt Short, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Marnus Labuschagne, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Aaron Hardie, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Pat Cummins (captain), 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Adam Zampa

Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk, captain), 5 Kamran Ghulam, 6 Salman Ali Agha, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain


Pakistan says revamping polio program as virus tally reaches 45 this year

Updated 5 min 31 sec ago
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Pakistan says revamping polio program as virus tally reaches 45 this year

  • Pakistan and Afghanistan are only two countries where polio remains endemic
  • Pakistan launched this year’s third nationwide polio campaign last month 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, has said the government is revamping its polio eradication program to make the country free of the virus by mid next year, Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.

Two new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the country’s polio program said late Friday, bringing the nationwide tally to 45 this year. So far this year, 22 polio cases have been reported from Balochistan province, 12 from Sindh, nine from KP and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

“All elements of the [polio] program, including surveillance, communication, and operations, have been revamped,” Farooq was quoted by Radio Pakistan as saying. “The new approach brings together federal, provincial, and district authorities in a coordinated effort to eliminate polio.”

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic. Since late 2018, Pakistan has seen a resurgence of cases and increased spread of poliovirus, highlighting the fragility of gains achieved in the preceding years when cases dropped in 2023 to six, from 20 in 2022 and just one in 2022. Misinformation about vaccinations and attacks by militants on polio teams have been major impediments to immunization campaigns.

At least seven people, including five school students, were killed and 23 injured in a blast in southwestern Pakistan that targeted a polio vaccination team vehicle on Friday, police said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Last Tuesday, a policeman was killed in an attack on a health office that manages door-to-door polio vaccination campaigns.

The attacks have coincided with Pakistan’s third nationwide polio campaign this year, launched last week with the aim to administer vaccine drops to more than 45 million children.


Pakistan’s privatization minister says no objection to provinces acquiring national airline

Updated 3 min 42 sec ago
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Pakistan’s privatization minister says no objection to provinces acquiring national airline

  • Punjab, KP governments have expressed willingness to acquire stakes in national airline 
  • Islamabad last week kickstarted PIA’s privatization process, receiving a low bid of $36 million for it

KARACHI: Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that the center would welcome bids from Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and other provinces for the national flag carrier, stressing that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was a “national asset” which his government would not sell for trinkets. 

Khan’s statement comes after the government kickstarted the loss-making PIA’s privatization process on Thursday, holding a televised auction in which it received the sole bid of Rs10 billion ($36 million) from Blue World City, a real estate development firm. The bid fell far short of the minimum price of Rs85 billion ($305 million) set by the government. The KP government formally offered to exceed the bid on Friday, saying the airline should remain under government control to preserve its status. 

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, chief of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and father of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, said last week that the Punjab government was mulling acquiring the PIA and renaming it “Air Punjab.”

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Khan said it was not his job as privatization minister to reform the national flag carrier rather it was his job to sell the airline in “whatever condition it is in.”

“It is a very good development that if the KP, Punjab, Sindh or Balochistan governments want to acquire it [PIA] together, why would we object,” Khan asked. “We would be very happy if all of you acquire it and bring in a very professional management.”

Khan defended the PIA’s privatization process, saying that his government will ensure the process is conducted in a very efficient manner. 

“PIA is our national asset, I cannot sell it for trinkets,” he said. “I can sell any personal belonging of mine even for free [but not a national asset].”

Separately, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori said Karachi’s traders are interested in acquiring the national airline. 

“Karachi’s businesspersons are constantly contacting me to talk about the airline’s matters,” Tessori wrote on social media platform X on Monday. “Karachi’s businesspersons want the PIA to be given to them for a year and they are also interested in starting a new airline,” he added. 

The Sindh governor said he had advised Karachi’s businesspersons to name any new airline they would manage as “PK” in which P would stand for Pakistan and K for Karachi. 

“If Karachi Air is started, it would provide additional opportunities for jobs,” Tessori said. “I want to become the voice of the traders and give this country and its people jobs and prosperity.”

Pakistan decided to move ahead with PIA’s privatization under terms agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 37-month, $7 billion bailout approved in September, aiming to divest over 51 percent of its stake in the financially struggling national carrier.

Critics, including PIA union representatives and independent analysts, last week called the $36 million bid an “embarrassment” for the government, with airline employees suggesting Pakistani authorities should expand PIA’s fleet to restore its operational viability.

A popular airline during its heydays in the ‘60s and ‘70s, PIA has grappled with financial losses, mismanagement, and operational challenges in recent years. It has also been burdened by a high debt load, inefficiencies, and corruption allegations, resulting in an overall decline in its financial performance.

The disposal of the flag carrier is a step that past elected governments have steered away from as it is expected to be unpopular with the masses. 


Punjab bans heavy transport vehicles from entering Lahore amid record pollution

Updated 14 min 37 sec ago
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Punjab bans heavy transport vehicles from entering Lahore amid record pollution

  • Heavy transport vehicles banned from entering Lahore on Fridays and Sundays, from Nov. 8-Jan. 31, 2025
  • Thick smog, a mix of fog and pollutants, has enveloped Lahore for days, putting health of millions at jeopardy 

ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province has banned the entry of heavy transport vehicles (HTVs) in Lahore on Fridays and Sundays in its efforts to contain air pollution that has enveloped the megacity, putting the health of millions of people at risk. 

For days, Lahore, a city of 14 million people, has been enveloped by dense smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal stubble burning and winter cooling. The air quality index, which measures a range of pollutants, exceeded 1,000 on Saturday and Sunday, well above the level of 300 that is considered “dangerous” for human health, according to data from IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitor.

In its efforts to protect people from the harmful effects of smog, the Punjab government announced on Sunday it was shutting primary schools in Lahore for a week. Last month, authorities banned schoolchildren from outdoor exercise until January and adjusted school hours to prevent children from traveling when the pollution is most punishing. The provincial environmental protection agency announced new restrictions in four “hot spots” in the city while rickshaws equipped with polluting two-stroke engines are banned, as are restaurants that barbecue without filters.

Government offices and private companies will have half their staff work from home starting Monday. Other safety measures mean that construction work has been halted and street and food vendors, who often cook over open fires, must close at 8 pm.

A notification by Punjab’s Environmental Protection Agency on Sunday said a thorough analysis of the air quality deterioration in Lahore has concluded that vehicular emission is the “major source of air pollution” in the city. It added that the volume of traffic increases vehemently on Friday and Sunday evenings and nights. 

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, Dr. Imran Hamid Sheikh (PAS), Director General, Environmental Protection Agency, Punjab in exercise of the powers conferred upon me u/s 6(1) (t) of the Punjab Environmental Protection Act, 1997, do hereby order that there shall be complete ban on the entry of Heavy Transport Vehicles (HTVs) in District Lahore on Friday and Sunday nights,” the notification said. 

“The HTVs may enter in District Lahore as per their already specified timings in other.”

The notification said that the ban will come into effect from Nov. 8 and will stay in place till Jan. 31, 2025. It further said that passenger buses, ambulances, fire brigades, Rescue 1122 vehicles, police and prison vehicles, government vehicles and HTVs carrying fuel, medicines and food supply items will be exempt from the ban. 

PUNJAB CALLS FOR PRECAUTIONS

Provincial Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday called on people to wear masks and not venture out unnecessarily to keep themselves safe from the pollution. She said the provincial government had established smog counters at hospitals. 

“Public should strictly follow precautionary measures, the elderly, the sick and children should be especially careful,” Aurangzeb said. 

She warned farmers against burning crop residues.

“Arrests and fines for violations will continue,” she added. 

Breathing the toxic air has catastrophic health consequences, with the World Health Organization saying strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases can be triggered by prolonged exposure.

On Saturday, the concentration of deadly PM2.5 pollutants — fine particulate matter in the air that causes most damage to health — was more than 40 times the level deemed acceptable by the WHO. PM2.5 levels on Sunday morning exceeded that before decreasing slightly.

Children are particularly vulnerable because they have less developed lungs and breathe more rapidly, taking in more air relative to their size than adults.

— With additional input from AFP
 


PM urges UK businesspersons to benefit from Pakistan’s investment-friendly policies

Updated 03 November 2024
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PM urges UK businesspersons to benefit from Pakistan’s investment-friendly policies

  • The development comes amid Pakistan’s efforts to boost trade and foreign investment after it narrowly escaped a default last year
  • The South Asian country has since sought to promote closer ties with regional, international allies to bolster its fragile economy

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday met a delegation of prominent British business figures and urged them to benefit from Pakistan’s investment-friendly climate, Sharif’s office said, amid Islamabad’s efforts to boost trade and foreign investment.
The business delegation, led by renowned British businessman Zuber Issa, met the prime minister in the eastern city of Lahore, according to Sharif’s office.
Sharif urged the delegates to invest in Pakistan, saying foreign investors were being provided best facilities by Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
“Promotion of foreign investment in the country is the top priority of the government,” he was quoted as saying by his office.
“Due to the efforts of the government, the country’s economy has improved in recent days which has increased the confidence of investors.”
The two sides exchanged views on finding new ways to improve business-to-business relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
“The delegation appreciated and expressed their confidence in the prime minister’s economic policies that put the country’s economy on the path of stability and sustainable development,” Sharif’s office added.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s efforts to boost trade and foreign investment after it narrowly escaped a default last year by securing a last-gasp $3 billion financial assistance package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The South Asian country has since sought to promote closer economic ties with regional and international allies to bolster its fragile $350 billion economy, which has been suffering from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.