ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday spoke with his Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati and sought his “personal intervention” to ensure the evacuation through Beirut of Pakistani expats stranded in Syria.
Syrian opposition forces seized the capital of Damascus unopposed on Sunday after a lightning advance that sent President Bashar Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s autocratic rule. The shakeup has left over 1,300 Pakistanis stranded in Syria, with the Pakistani foreign office saying on Monday they would be evacuated once the Damascus airport reopened.
“Both leaders exchanged notes on the evolving situation in Syria,” Sharif’s office said in a statement after his telephonic conversation with Mikati.
“Prime Minister sought Mr. Mikati’s personal intervention and support in facilitating immediate evacuation of Pakistani nationals, currently stranded in Syria through Beirut.”
Following the phone call, Sharif also spoke to Pakistan’s ambassadors in Syria and Lebanon and instructed them “to extend all possible assistance and cooperation to the stranded Pakistanis in Syria and facilitate their safe return home,” the PM’s office said.
Earlier in the day, Sharif chaired a meeting on the evacuation of Pakistanis from Syria, directing relevant authorities to formulate a plan of action to move expats from Syria through neighboring countries.
He ordered that an information desk and a helpline be set up to contact Pakistanis at the embassy in Damascus.
“The Crisis Management Unit of the Foreign Office and the information desks in Pakistani embassies in Syria and its neighboring countries should remain active 24 hours a day until the law and order situation improves,” a statement from Sharif’s office after the meeting said.
Pakistan’s embassy in Syria said on Monday it would accommodate Pakistani nationals at a school run by the mission so they could have a secure place to stay while repatriation flights were arranged.
Muhammad Nafees, an official at the Pakistani embassy in Damascus, told Arab News Syria’s airports and borders with Jordan and Oman were currently closed, posing a “major challenge” to the repatriation effort.
The official said there were around 1,200 Pakistanis living in Syria, while around 140 Pakistani pilgrims were stranded in the Sayyidah Zaynab city near Damascus.
PM Sharif seeks intervention from Lebanese counterpart to evacuate Pakistanis from Syria
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PM Sharif seeks intervention from Lebanese counterpart to evacuate Pakistanis from Syria
- Around 1,200 Pakistanis live in Syria and nearly 140 Pakistani pilgrims are stranded in Sayyidah Zaynab city near Damascus
- Pakistani embassy in Damascus says closure of Syria’s airports, borders with Jordan and Oman pose “major challenge” to repatriation
Pakistan stresses increasing trade, economic engagement with Europe amid EU-India deal
- Deputy PM Ishaq Dar chairs meeting to review measures to strengthen Pakistan-EU economic and trade cooperation
- Free trade agreement grants Indian exporters sweeping tariff-free access to EU, Pakistan’s second-largest export market
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday stressed the importance of deepening trade and economic engagement with the European Union (EU) amid the bloc’s recent free trade agreement with India.
India and EU last month announced they had successfully concluded negotiations for a free trade agreement with the EU, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as the “mother of all trade deals.” The agreement grants Indian exporters sweeping tariff-free access to the EU, Pakistan’s second-largest export market. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the deal created a free trade zone of two billion people.
The main concern for Pakistan is that the India-EU deal may significantly reduce Islamabad’s tariff advantage under the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus, which allows duty-free access for many Pakistani exports in return for commitments on labor rights, human rights and governance. Pakistan’s foreign office, however, has said it continues to view its trade relationship with the EU, particularly under the GSP Plus framework, as mutually beneficial.
Dar chaired a high-level inter-ministerial meeting to review measures aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s economic and trade cooperation with EU on Monday, the foreign ministry said.
“DPM/FM underscored the importance of deepening and expanding trade and economic engagement with the EU, noting that the EU remains a key economic partner for Pakistan, particularly under the GSP Plus framework,” the statement said.
He highlighted that Pakistan has successfully completed four biennial GSP Plus reviews, reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to fully meeting its obligations under the scheme to expand mutually beneficial trade opportunities.
The meeting was attended by the federal minister of law and senior officials as well as Pakistan’s ambassador to the EU.
The development takes place as Pakistan’s exports dwindle. After rising 5 percent to $32.1 billion last fiscal year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported that exports fell 9 percent to $15.2 billion in the first half of the current year through December.
Pakistani industrialists and financial analysts have urged the government to reduce domestic production costs, particularly high power tariffs. EU accounts for a substantial share of Pakistan’s exports, particularly textiles and garments.
“The EU-India FTA will have a definite impact on Pakistan’s textile exports to the EU,” said Shankar Talreja, the head of research at Karachi-based Topline Securities Ltd, told Arab News last month.
“Pakistani companies’ competitive advantage to compete against a giant like India needs to be restored in the form of regionally aligned energy tariffs and policy certainty.”
