Tag: Pakistan

Border trade between Pakistan & China to resume next week after 3 years

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Islamabad: After a three-year hiatus, Pakistan and China are set to resume trade from Monday through the Khunjerab Pass – the only land route between the two all-weather allies, a media report said on Saturday.
The Khunjerab Pass was closed in November 2019 to contain the transmission of the COVID-19 virus between the two countries.
The arrangements to reopen the border point for bilateral trade and other activities under the China-Pakistan Eco nomic Corridor (CPEC) have been finalised by both sides, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The USD 60 billion CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The CPEC is a network of roads, railways, pipelines, and ports in Pakistan connecting China to the Arabian Sea.
Gilgit-Baltistan Home Secretary Rana Mohammad Saleem Afzal said that officials on both sides agreed to reopen Khunjerab Pass for trade and travel activities from April 3. He added that the process of issuing border passes would start soon, the report said.
“Most important aspect is that it’s a CPEC route. CPEC consignments will enter Pakistan through Khunjerab Pass from China,” he said.
Under an agreement, trade and travel activities between the two countries through the Khunjerab Pass start annually on April 1 and close on November 30. Daily bus service also plies from the Sost Valley of the Gilgit-Baltistan region to the Xinjiang province of China, the report said.
The first trade activity between China and Pakistan under the CPEC started via the Karakoram Highway in November 2016.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, said that the federal government had been working to revive CPEC activities, the report said. She added that all hurdles in the bilateral trade’s way would be removed.
The prolonged closure of the Khunjerab Pass caused immense financial hardships to the local business community, and thousands of workers became jobless, the report said, quoting officials.
During the last three years, the Pass was occasionally opened for emergency cargo transportation from China to Pakistan on specific days.
The volume of trade between the two countries would increase after the reopening of the Khunjerab Pass, Gilgit-Baltistan Collector of Customs Syed Fawad Ali Shah was quoted as saying in the report.
He said all required arrangements had been finalised for normal trade at the Sost dry port. Shah added that he met traders, the port management and other stakeholders, who were all happy and assured the administration of their cooperation in smooth trade activities at the dry port.
Haji Liaquat of the Gilgit-Baltistan Importers and Exporters Association said that the people affiliated with trade between the two countries were optimistic about the revival of economic activities in the region, according to the report.
He added that the people of the region and the government exchequer suffered losses worth billions of rupees owing to the prolonged halt of trade at the Sost dry port.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 1, 2023
Pakistan: Sikh businessman shot dead by unknown gunmen in Peshawar

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Peshawar: A Sikh businessman was shot dead on Friday by unknown assailants here, in the latest incident of targeted attacks against minority communities in Pakistan.
The incident took place at 3 pm when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at Dayal Singh, a businessman in Peshawar’s Dir Colony area, police said.
The gunmen fled the scene after committing the crime, they said.
Police have collected 30 bore bullet shells from the site of the crime. CCTV footage from the shop has been obtained and the police have launched an investigation into the attack.
The Peshawar killing comes a day after a Hindu doctor was shot dead by unknown assailants in Karachi.
Last week, shopkeepers from the minority Hindu community were assaulted in the Sindh province for “allegedly violating the Ramzan ordinance,” according to the Express Tribune newspaper.
About 15,000 Sikhs live in Peshawar, mostly in the Jogan Shah neighbourhood of the provincial capital Peshawar.
Most of the members of the Sikh community in Peshawar are involved in business, while some also have pharmacies.

In September last year, a well-known Sikh hakeem’ (Unani medicine practitioner) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen inside his clinic in Peshawar.
In 2018, Charanjit Singh, a prominent Sikh community member, was killed by unknown men in Peshawar.
Similarly, news channel anchor Ravinder Singh was killed in 2020 in the city. In 2016, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf National Assembly member Soren Singh was also killed in Peshawar.
Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.
According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in the Muslim-majority country.
Muslims account for about 96 per cent of Pakistan’s 207 million population, Hindus 2.1 per cent and Christians about 1.6 per cent according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates.
The majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim residents.
The Ahmadis, Sikhs and Parsis are also among the notable religious minorities in Pakistan.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
People in Pakistan unhappy, believe Partition was mistake, says RSS chief

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Bhopal: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said people of Pakistan were not happy after more than seven decades of Independence and they now believe the partition of India was a mistake.
He was speaking at a function to mark the birth anniversary of teen revolutionary Hemu Kalani, which was attended by Sindhis from different parts of the country.
“It was Bharat before 1947 (Partition). Those who broke off from Bharat, are they happy still? There is pain out there,” Bhagwat said in an apparent reference to Pakistan.
However, in a reference to the acrimonious relationship the two nations have now, Bhagwat underscored the fact that India did not belong to a culture that calls for attacks on others.
“I do not mean to say Bharat should attack Pakistan. Not at all. We don’t belong to that culture that calls for attack on others,” he said.
“We are from the culture that gives a befitting reply in self-defence,” Bhagwat said apparently referring to the surgical strikes on terror camps in that country, adding “we do it and we will keep doing it”.
“People of Pakistan are now saying the division of Bharat was a mistake. All are saying it was a mistake,” Bhagwat asserted.
Hailing the Sindhi community, most of who arrived here during Partition, Bhagwat said they had come “from that Bharat to this Bharat for the sake of your rich Sindhu culture and values”.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Pakistan forex reserves fall to less than a month’s import cover

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Islamabad: As Pakistan struggles to secure external financing to pull the country out of the economic crisis, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reversed their course, snapping their six-week winning streak, media reports said.
In its weekly bulletin, the SBP said that its foreign exchange reserves have decreased by $354 million to $4.2 billion as of the week ended March 24, which will provide an import cover of less than a month, Geo News reported.
The net forex reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.6 billion, $1.3 billion more than the SBP, bringing the total liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country to $9.8 billion, the statement said.
Pakistan’s $350 billion economy continues to dwindle amid financial woes as the authorities struggle to strike a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Washington-based lender has been in talks with the Pakistani authorities since end-January to resume the $1.1 billion loan tranche held since November last year, part of a $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed upon in 2019.
The IMF funding is critical for Pakistan to unlock other external financing avenues to avert a default on its obligations.
An IMF statement said substantial progress has been made in discussions towards policies in recent days and financial assurances are standard in IMF programmes, Geo News reported.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Pakistan court strikes down colonial-era sedition law

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Lahore: A high court in Pakistan on Thursday struck down a colonial-era sedition law that criminalised criticism of the federal and provincial governments, terming it inconsistent with the Constitution.
Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) annulled Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) dealing with sedition, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Justice Karim pronounced the verdict in response to identical petitions seeking to annul the sedition law, the paper said.
One of the petitions, filed by a citizen named Haroon Farooq, which was identical to all other pleas urged the court to declare Section 124-A of the PPC as “ultra-vires in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution being inconsistent with and in derogation of fundamental rights provided under Article 9, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19, 19A of the Constitution”.
The law states: “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Federal or Provincial Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”
It was argued in the petition that the sedition act was enacted in 1860 which is a sign of British colonial rule, Geo News reported.
The petition added that this law was used for slaves under which a case can be registered at anyone’s request.
It was stated in the petition that the Constitution of Pakistan gives every citizen the right to freedom of expression but still, Section 124-A is imposed for making speeches against the rulers.

According to the petition, the law has been recklessly used in Pakistan as a tool of exploitation to curb the right to free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution.
The petition said the law was serving as “a notorious tool for the suppression of dissent, free speech and criticism in free and independent Pakistan”.
Over the past few years, the petition argued, various politicians, journalists and activists had been booked under Section 124-A.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Saudi Arabia signals readiness to provide more credit to Pakistan

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Islamabad: Pakistan claimed that it received an indication from Saudi Arabia for additional loans that may help to break gridlock with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“We have received an indication from Saudi Arabia about getting something,” Dr Aisha Pasha, the Minister of State for Finance, said after attending a meeting of a parliamentary committee, without explaining the loan amount, The Express Tribune reported.
She also informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that some progress was made a day earlier on a friendly country deposit, saying, “we will soon reach the stage to sign the Staff-Level Agreement with the IMF”.
The IMF has asked Pakistan to arrange $6 billion in additional loans and at least half of those must be materialised before the board meeting.
The funds are needed to avoid sovereign default and also increasing the foreign exchange reserves to a level sufficient to back 1.7 months of imports, Express Tribune reported.
Pakistan had told the IMF that it would get $2 billion in additional loans from Saudi Arabia and $1 billion from the UAE to meet the additional financing requirements.
Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salim Al-Zaabi, Ambassador of the UAE also called on Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Dar highlighted various avenues in which both countries could enhance their existing trade and investment relations.

Sources said the IMF wanted the $3 billion to be arranged from
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#Saudi #Arabia #signals #readiness #provide #credit #Pakistan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 30, 2023
EU removes Pakistan from list of ‘High-Risk Third Countries’

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Islamabad: The EU has removed Pakistan from its list of “High-Risk Third Countries” that do not have a robust anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing regime, a move welcomed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday as a major development which would facilitate the cash-strapped country’s businesses.
The developments come as a much-needed breather when Pakistan faces an economic crisis.
The EU’s delegation in Pakistan termed it an “important positive step” for Pakistan.
“In line with last year’s FATF (Financial Action Task Force) decision, the EU has decided to remove Pakistan from its list of countries with high risk regarding money laundering and financing of terrorism,” it said on Twitter.
It was referring to the decision by the global money laundering and financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to remove Pakistan from its list of countries under “increased monitoring”.
In a statement announcing the news on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce said the listing of Pakistan in 2018 had resulted in creating a regulatory burden affecting Pakistani companies doing business with the 27-member bloc.
Pakistan was included on the list in 2018, placing the country under additional regulatory restrictions.
The list includes countries that the European Union considers to have strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks.

Prime Minister Sharif in a Twitter post said that the decision would facilitate the country’s businesses, individuals and entities.
“De-listing of Pakistan from EU’s updated list of high-risk third-countries is a major development which would facilitate our businesses, individuals and entities,” the Pakistan leader tweeted.
PM Shehbaz also said it was a reflection of the government’s unwavering resolve to further strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering
and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
According to the Delegated Regulation, following the measures implemented to address the action plans agreed with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Nicaragua, Pakistan and Zimbabwe remedied the strategic deficiencies in their respective AML/CFT regimes and no longer pose a significant AML/CFT threat to the international financial system.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce said the EU member states’ “Obligated Entities” will no longer be required to apply “Enhanced Customer Due Diligence” while conducting transactions with individuals and legal entities established in Pakistan.
The entities include credit institutions, financial institutions, auditors, external accountants, tax advisors, notaries, independent legal professionals (acting on behalf of and for their client in any financial or real estate transaction), estate agents and individuals trading in goods.
Pakistan’s exclusion from the list would add to the comfort level of the European economic operators and is likely to ease the cost and time of legal and financial transactions by Pakistani entities and individuals in the EU, according to the ministry statement.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in a statement said that it would help Pakistan’s economy.
“Pakistani businesses and individuals would no longer be subjected to enhanced customer due diligence by European legal and economic operators,” he added.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023
No formal discussions at ICC board meet on Pakistan playing World Cup games in Bangladesh

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New Delhi: ICC sources on Wednesday dismissed speculations about Pakistan playing their World Cup matches in Bangladesh instead of India due to the political tension between the two countries, terming it a “figment of imagination”.
The rebuttal came after reports that discussions were held during the recent ICC board meeting in Dubai about Pakistan possibly playing their league games in Bangladesh.
“No one knows if PCB chief Mr Najam Sethi has had any informal discussion with his Bangladeshi counterpart Najmul Hasan Papon but this can be said with a degree of certainty that no such discussions happened officially that Pakistan will play in Bangladesh,” an ICC board source privy to the developments told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
The source did point out that procurement of visas was an issue that was discussed and, contrary to conjectures made from the PCB’s part, the Indian cricket board has assured of all assistance.
“The BCCI has categorically said that there will be no problems with procurement of visas. One of the main points for a host country is that all participating nations will be given visas on time. From ICC’s part, Bangladesh is not even in its scheme of things as a co-host as of now,” the source said.
“Suppose Pakistan reach the semi-finals or win to play the finals, do they expect the matches to be played in Bangladesh. This is not a theatre of absurd happening,” the board member added.
The top brass in BCCI circles understands that this is a pressure put by the PCB to host the entire Asia Cup in Pakistan, which isn’t being looked upon as a feasible solution.
“We understand that this is a kind of pressure tactic applied by PCB because of the Asia Cup issue. But let me tell you, ultimately, Asia Cup will also be played in UAE or Qatar and probably Pakistan will also have to play its matches in one of these countries,” a BCCI source said.

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman and BCCI secretary Jay Shah has already made it clear that India is not travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup and that it will be held at a neutral venue.
“As far as Pakistan playing its Asia Cup games in Pakistan is concerned, the budget for the tournament is passed by the Asian Cricket Council. If ACC says that it’s not a commercially viable proposition to hold Asia Cup in two countries, how can Pakistan play its games at home. ACC, for all you know, might not pass the budget,” a board source said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023
Pakistan May Not Play Its 2023 ODI World Cup Games In India: Report. This Is The Likely Venue

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New Delhi, Mar, 29: With the confusion over where Indian cricket team and Pakistan cricket team over where the two sides might play in the Asia Cup, ESPN Cricinfo has reported a fresh development on the World Cup front. The ODI ICC World Cup is being held in India in October-November. According to the report, Pakistan could play its matches in Bangladesh. “The idea has been discussed at the ICC level,” the report claimed. This reported development comes as a hybrid model is coming up as an option for host venue of the Asia Cup.
Also, Wasim Khan, former CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the current General Manager of Cricket for the International Cricket Council (ICC) in an interview with ARY News claimed that Pakistan might also play their World Cup matches at a neutral venue.
“I don’t know if it would take place in a different country but a neutral venue is highly likely,” said Wasim on a question regarding the likely neutral venue for India’s Asia Cup fixtures.
“I don’t think that Pakistan will play their matches in India. I think their matches will also be held at a neutral venue just like India’s Asia Cup matches,” Wasim added.
Pakistan were initially announced as the Asia Cup hosts. However, in October, 2022, the Pakistan Cricket Board was caught off guard by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who stated that India would not travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup and that it would be held in a “neutral” venue. The PCB, under the then chairman Ramiz Raja, promptly responded and said that any such development might impact their plans to travelling to India for the World Cup.
Since then a stalemate has been there regarding the Asia Cup. According to report by news agency ANI, the Asia Cup 2023 is likely to be held in Pakistan, but India will play their games at a neutral venue. After a brief stalemate, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are working quickly to broker a compromise that could result in both teams playing their tournament matches against one another outside of Pakistan. India are likely to play their Asia Cup 2023 matches in either England, Oman, Sri Lanka or UAE.
“A meeting between the boards had been done a few days back and the tournament will be allowed to be held in Pakistan. India will play their matches at a neutral venue and will not travel to Pakistan, the venues where India could play their matches are likely to be Oman, UAE, England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Though the decision will be decided later,” a source told ANI.
The foreign location is still to be determined, although the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka, and possibly England are viable candidates to host India’s matches, including at least two matches between India and Pakistan. The neutral venue is not confirmed but the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and even England are potential contenders. If India book their place in the Asia Cup final, the summit clash will take place at a neutral venue.

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( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

March 29, 2023
Pakistan PM Sharif urges parliament to curtail powers of Chief Justice

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Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that “history would not forgive us” if parliament did not enact laws to curtail the powers of the chief justice, a day after two Supreme Court judges questioned the suo motu powers of the country’s top judge.
Addressing the joint session of parliament, Sharif talked at length about the dissenting judgement by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail of the Supreme Court, who lashed out at the unlimited authority of the Chief Justice to take a suo motu (on its own) action on any issue and constitute benches of choice to hear different cases.
Their judgment was about the case of suo motu notice taken by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on February 22 about elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Speaking passionately about the need for new laws to limit the chief justice’s power, Sharif said that if the legislation were not passed, “history would not forgive us”.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Cabinet has reportedly approved the draft of a legislation on Tuesday seeking to curtail the discretionary powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
The bill, a copy of which is available with the newspaper, says that a committee of the three senior-most judges of the Supreme Court would decide on any suo motu case being taken up by the apex court under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution.
The suo motu power is based on the original jurisdiction of the court under Article 184 of the Constitution. However, its usage over the years has created an impression of partiality on the Chief Justices’ part.
It was openly challenged for the first time by the two judges who were part of a bench that, in its 3-2 majority decision of March 1, directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to consult with President Arif Alvi for polls in Punjab and Governor Ghulam Ali for elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The five-member bench was reconstituted by Bandial, who took a suo motu action against the delay in elections and initially formed a nine-member bench to deal with the issue. However, two of the nine judges differed with the decision to take suo motu notice, while two other judges recused themselves, prompting the Chief Justice to form a new bench.
Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail, in their detailed 28-page dissenting note, also rejected the 3-2 judgment in the suo motu case by saying that it was a 4-3 judgment to reject the maintainability of the case and lambasted the Chief Justice’s power to form a bench for important cases.
The coalition government led by Prime Minister Sharif, which is supporting the ECP’s decision to delay the election in the two provinces until October 8, is trying to use the parliament to curtail the powers of the Chief Justice.
The premier also said that the courts were treating Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan favourably and were not ready to hold Khan accountable.
Sharif said that “enough is enough” and the law would take its course while the government would not allow “the favourite” to play with Pakistan.
He added that the Constitution clearly defined the division of powers between the legislature, judiciary and administration and set a red line that no one should cross.
The powers of the legislature defined by the Constitution and the powers of the judiciary were being flouted, the prime minister said.
The joint session of parliament was summoned last week to discuss the key issues confronting Pakistan and provide guidelines to deal with those issues.
The development comes as the top court is hearing a case about the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan to postpone the provincial election till October 8, well beyond the 90 days deadline by the constitution to hold elections after the dissolution of an assembly.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 28, 2023