Pakistan, Iran agree to increase bilateral trade to $10 billion, sign eight MoUs

Short Url
Updated 22 April 2024
Follow

Pakistan, Iran agree to increase bilateral trade to $10 billion, sign eight MoUs

Pakistan, Iran agree to increase bilateral trade to $10 billion, sign eight MoUs
  • The signed agreements were related to the fields of trade, science and technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters
  • Ebrahim Raisi met Pakistan PM, president and army chief amid efforts by both neighbors to mend ties after this year’s tit-for-tat strikes

ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday Islamabad and Tehran had committed to strengthening bilateral relations across political, economic, trade, and cultural domains through the signing of eight accords and memorandums of agreement.

Raisi arrived in Islamabad on Monday on a three-day visit as the two Muslim neighbors seek to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes this year. He is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation of cabinet members and businesspersons.

The Iranian president was presented with a guard of honor by a Pakistan army contingent upon his arrival at the Prime Minister’s House. He subsequently held meetings with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The MoUs and agreements cover different fields including trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters. They include an MoU on the establishment of the Rimdan-Gabd Joint Free/Special Zone; on cooperation between the Ministry of Cooperative Labour and Social Welfare of Iran and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistani and Human Resources Development of Pakistan; on judicial assistance and legal cooperation at the ministry levels; on cooperation for animal hygiene and health; on mutual recognition in the field of quarantine and phytosanitary; and on the promotion of culture and films.

The signing ceremony also marked the ratification of a security cooperation agreement between the governments of two countries.

“Today in our meeting with [Pakistani] prime minister, and other members of the respective cabinet, we decided to promote the bilateral relations between the two countries at political, economic, trade, culture, including others, at all levels as far as possible,” Raisi said at a joint press stakeout with Pakistani premier Sharif.

The Iranian President said both countries were committed to combating terrorism, organized crime, narcotics, and various forms of insecurity that threatened not only the neighbors but the wider region.

“There are a number of common positions and stance between our two countries when it comes, for instance, to fighting against terrorism,” he said, adding that Iran and Pakistan shared a lengthy common border, which presented an opportunity to create and bring about welfare for the people residing in border areas and regions.

“The economic and trade volume between Iran and Pakistan is not acceptable at all and we have decided at the first step to increase the trade volume between our two countries to $10 billion,” Raisi added.

Speaking at the press conference, Sharif said both countries collectively needed to work to strengthen bilateral relations, transforming their shared border into a “beacon of development and prosperity.”

“Today presents an opportunity to forge our friendship into a catalyst for progress and prosperity and the decisions made today regarding economic progress and connectivity will yield visible results,” the PM said.

He also commended the “resolute stance” taken by the Iranian nation against Israeli actions in Gaza, where 35,000 people have been killed in Israeli air and ground offensives since Oct. 7. Sharif called on Iran and Pakistan to unite at the OIC and other international forums alongside fellow Islamic nations to push for a complete ceasefire.

Later, the Iranian president met with his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, at the Presidency in Islamabad, where the two leaders expressed deep commitment to the longstanding Pakistan-Iran relations. 

“They emphasized the need for further deepening and broadening of bilateral relations in diverse fields and for enhancing high-level dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation,” the Pakistan presidency said in a statement.

In a meeting with Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, both sides concurred on the necessity to bolster bilateral cooperation while jointly striving for regional stability and economic prosperity, according to the Pakistani military. The discussions primarily focused on matters of mutual interest, notably regional peace, stability, and border security.

“COAS (chief of army staff) described the Pak-Iran border as ‘the border of peace and friendship,’ emphasizing the need for improved coordination along the border to prevent terrorists from jeopardizing the longstanding brotherly relations between the two neighboring countries,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.

“President Ebrahim Raisi emphasized that by fostering cooperation between the two Armed Forces, Pakistan and Iran can attain peace and stability for both nations and the region.”

Raisi also met Yusuf Raza Gillani, chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

“OFTEN AT ODDS”

During his visit from April 22-24, the Iranian head of state is also scheduled to meet the Pakistani president, Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker. He will also visit the cities of Karachi and Lahore to meet the country’s provincial leadership.

Raisi’s visit is the first by any head of state to Pakistan after the South Asian nation’s contentious elections of February 2024 and the formation of a new government headed by Sharif. The visit also comes as tensions are high in the Middle East after Iran launched airstrikes on Israel a week ago and Israel retaliated with its own attack on Friday.

Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial pacts, with Islamabad being historically closer to Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Their highest profile agreement is a stalled gas supply deal signed in 2010 to build a pipeline from Iran’s South Fars gas field to Pakistan’s southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh.

Pakistan and Iran are also often at odds over instability on their shared porous border, with both countries routinely trading blame for not rooting out militancy.

Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s countries. Both sides have since then undertaken peace overtures and restored bilateral ties.

Former diplomat Naghmana Hashmi said the Iranian President’s visit with a large delegation indicated that both countries had put aside “all sources of irritation,” particularly the recent border skirmishes.

“He is also visiting the commercial centers like Lahore and Karachi, which absolutely is a very clear signal that we want to take the economic relationship that the two countries have, to greater heights, and to increase the flow of trade, to encourage the barter trade and the border markets that we have recently established,” she told Arab News.

Hashmi added that both countries were important forces for peace and security in the region.

“At the time when Iran’s tension with the Israel is at its peak, for the president of Iran to come to Pakistan shows his confidence, both as a leader and as a nation, on us being a good neighbor and they consider Pakistan as their great friend,” she added.

Former Pakistani ambassador to Iran, Riffat Masood, said Raisi’s visit was important in the backdrop of recent hostilities between Israel and Iran.

“And, of course, when the leadership of the two countries meet, they will definitely discuss the way forward in trying to bring an end to or at least reduce the hostilities,” she told Arab News.

She said Raisi’s visit would also further enhance security and economic cooperation between Pakistan and Iran.

“The recent border issues are not expected to have a significant impact,” Masood said, “as both countries swiftly addressed them before any negative consequences could affect bilateral relations.”


Pakistan court sentences ex-PM Imran Khan to 14 years in prison in land bribe case

Pakistan court sentences ex-PM Imran Khan to 14 years in prison in land bribe case
Updated 17 January 2025
Follow

Pakistan court sentences ex-PM Imran Khan to 14 years in prison in land bribe case

Pakistan court sentences ex-PM Imran Khan to 14 years in prison in land bribe case
  • The case involves a charitable entity, Al-Qadir Trust, set up by the ex-premier and his wife Bushra Khan in 2018
  • Authorities say the trust was a front for the couple to receive valuable land as bribe from a real estate developer

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Pakistan on Friday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to 14 years in prison after he was convicted along with his wife of receiving land as a bribe from a real-estate tycoon, Khan’s party said.
The case involved a charitable entity, Al-Qadir Trust, set up by Khan and his third wife Bushra Khan in 2018 when he was still in office. The court sentenced Khan’s wife to seven years in prison in the case.
Pakistani authorities say the trust was a front for the couple to receive valuable land as a bribe from a real estate developer, Malik Riaz Hussain, who is one of Pakistan’s richest and most powerful businessmen. Hussain, like Khan and Bushra, denies any wrongdoing.
In response to Friday’s verdict, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said while it awaited a detailed judgment, the case against Khan and his wife “lacks any solid foundation and is bound to collapse.”
“All evidence and witness testimonies confirm that there has been no mismanagement or wrongdoing,” the PTI said in a statement. “Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are merely trustees with no further involvement in the matter.”
The announcement of the verdict in the Al-Qadir Trust case had already been postponed thrice before, drawing criticism from Khan’s party.
Khan, while speaking to journalists inside the Adyala jail in Rawalpindi where Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the decision, said the verdict had “tarnished the reputation” of the country’s judiciary.
“In this case, neither I benefited nor the government lost [anything]. I don’t want any relief, will face all cases,” he said. “My wife is a housewife, who has nothing to do with this phony case. Wife was given sentence to infuriate me.”
Pakistan’s government said the country’s judiciary was independent to make decisions and Khan had failed to offer evidence to prove his innocence.
“This case has run for a period of more than a year, testimonies were recorded in it. The Tehreek-e-Insaf founder had the right to present evidence in his defense... he did not present witnesses in defense,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said.
“Now, he has the right to file an appeal.”
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar called the Al-Qadir Trust case the “biggest mega corruption case” in Pakistan’s history, saying that Khan’s party fought it on “political basis.”
“The defense counsel fought this case politically. He did not fight the case on merit, based on evidence, and it has also been written in the verdict that the defense counsel could neither present evidence of [Khan and his wife’s] innocence, nor he could give a satisfactory response to the prosecution’s evidence,” he said.
“This case was fought on political basis, in media.”
Authorities say the Al-Qadir Trust scheme originated with 190 million pounds repatriated to Pakistan in 2019 by Britain after Hussain forfeited cash and assets to settle a British probe into whether they were proceeds of crime. Instead of putting it in Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s government is accused of using the money to pay fines levied by a court against Hussain for illegal acquisition of government lands at below-market value for development in Karachi.
Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal cases, says all charges against him are politically motivated and being backed by his political rivals led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country’s all-powerful military. Both deny the allegations.


Death toll rises to 10 in Pakistan supply convoy ambush — police

Death toll rises to 10 in Pakistan supply convoy ambush — police
Updated 55 min 32 sec ago
Follow

Death toll rises to 10 in Pakistan supply convoy ambush — police

Death toll rises to 10 in Pakistan supply convoy ambush — police
  • The attack happened Thursday when trucks carrying food, medicine and other relief supplies were heading to Kurram
  • Five drivers were still missing and their trucks had been burned by the attackers, a local police official says

Peshawar: The death toll from an ambush on a Pakistan convoy bringing supplies to a region besieged by sectarian fighting rose to 10 on Friday, police said, while up to six drivers have been kidnapped.
The Thursday ambush targeted a convoy of 33 vehicles set to resupply local traders in the northwest Kurram region with rice, flour and cooking oil and two aid vehicles carrying essential medicine.
“The deceased include two security personnel, four drivers... and four civilians,” a local police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“There are reports that five to six drivers have been abducted by a local tribe,” he said.
Kurram has been wracked by Sunni-Shiite violence for decades, but around 140 people have been killed since a fresh bout of fighting broke out in November.
As feuding tribes have battled with machine guns and heavy weapons, the remote and mountainous region bordering Afghanistan has been largely cut off from the outside world.
Numerous ceasefires have been touted, most recently on January 1, but none have stopped the violence.


Wildlife authorities seek declaration of fifth biosphere reserve for endangered Indus dolphins in Pakistan

Wildlife authorities seek declaration of fifth biosphere reserve for endangered Indus dolphins in Pakistan
Updated 17 January 2025
Follow

Wildlife authorities seek declaration of fifth biosphere reserve for endangered Indus dolphins in Pakistan

Wildlife authorities seek declaration of fifth biosphere reserve for endangered Indus dolphins in Pakistan
  • Biosphere reserves are protected areas that aim to balance the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use
  • The number of endangered Indus dolphins has grown to 2,100 in Pakistan amid conservation efforts in recent years

ISLAMABAD: Wildlife authorities in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province seek another biosphere reserve for endangered Indus dolphins in Pakistan and have requested their counterparts in Sindh and Punjab provinces to take up the matter with the federal climate change ministry, aiming to boost conservation and scientific assessment of the endangered species.

Biosphere reserves are protected areas that aim to balance the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. They are part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Man and Biosphere (MAB) program, which was launched in the 1970s.

Currently, there are 738 biosphere reserves in 134 countries of the world. Four of them are in Pakistan, including two in KP and one each in Punjab and Balochistan provinces of the South Asian country, where authorities say the number of Indus dolphins has grown to 2,100.

There are several other potential sites, including the Indus River and associated riparian areas or wetlands along KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district, which can be declared biosphere reserves for blind Indus dolphins, according to KP Chief Wildlife Conservator Dr. Mohsin Farooque.

“KP Wildlife Department suggests that the area of the proposed Indus Blind Dolphin Biosphere Reserve may be extended to include the habitat falling in Punjab and Sindh provinces to cover the entire range of Dolphin and conserve its habitat along Indus River in Layyah, Rajanpur, DG [Dera Ghazi] Khan, Muzaffargarh etc. in Punjab and Sukkur etc. in Sindh,” Dr. Farooque said in a letter to Punjab and Sindh wildlife authorities.

“This will help conserve the entire ecosystem along Indus River, including associated riparian and wetland areas on both sides of the Indus River.”

The Indus River dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor) and the Ganges River dolphin, also known as “susu,” (Platanista gangetica gangetica) are two river dolphin subspecies that are today the only surviving members of a once primitive and widespread group of archaic cetaceans that swam in the ancient Tethys Sea 50 million years ago, according to experts.

As the sea levels dropped and lands shifted, the freshwater Indus River dolphins were left behind in inland rivers in what is present-day Pakistan. Their survival is crucial to the local eco-structure.

Dr. Farooque said wildlife did not recognize man-made boundaries and fulfilled their requirements and life cycle within their home range irrespective of district, province or country.

“It is, therefore, requested to take necessary measures to take up the case with Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Islamabad for declaration of Indus Biosphere Reserve along Indus in relevant districts of

Punjab and Sindh and promote transboundary management... for effective conservation of the endemic Indus blind dolphin,” he added.


Pakistan to launch indigenous satellite today to predict natural disasters

Pakistan to launch indigenous satellite today to predict natural disasters
Updated 17 January 2025
Follow

Pakistan to launch indigenous satellite today to predict natural disasters

Pakistan to launch indigenous satellite today to predict natural disasters
  • The EO-1 satellite will be launched from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
  • It can provide timely updates on floods, landslides, quakes and glacier recession

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will launch its first fully indigenous Electro-Optical (EO-1) satellite today, Friday, to help predict natural disasters and monitor resources, Pakistani state media reported.
The EO-1 satellite will be launched from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The launch represents the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission’s (SUPARCO) dedication and expertise in advancing Pakistan’s technological capabilities in space science.
The satellite will enhance the country’s ability to monitor and manage natural resources, predict and respond to natural disasters, support food security and drive economic growth through informed decision-making and sustainable development.
“Designed and developed entirely by Pakistani engineers, EO-1 satellite is expected to provide substantial benefits across various sectors,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
Pakistan has witnessed erratic, frequent changes in its weather patterns, including floods, droughts, cyclones, torrential rainstorms, heatwaves and the slow-onset threat of glacial melting, in recent years that scientists have blamed on human-driven climate change.
In 2022, unusually heavy rains triggered floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting economic losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.
In urban development, the EO-1 satellite can help track infrastructure growth, manage urban sprawl and aid city and regional planning efforts. It will provide timely updates on floods, landslides, earthquakes, deforestation and land erosion in terms of environmental monitoring and disaster management, according to Pakistani state media.
The satellite will also support extraction and conservation strategies for natural resources, such as the monitoring of minerals, oil and gas fields, glacier recession and water resources.
Pakistan has taken strides in its space research program in the past few months. In Nov. last year, SUPARCO announced its rover will join China’s Chang’E 8 mission to explore the moon’s surface in 2028.
In May 2024, Pakistan launched its first lunar satellite aboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe, which was tasked with landing on the far side of the moon that perpetually faces away from the Earth. China was the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.


Pakistan win toss, elect to bat in 1st Test against West Indies

Pakistan win toss, elect to bat in 1st Test against West Indies
Updated 8 min 21 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan win toss, elect to bat in 1st Test against West Indies

Pakistan win toss, elect to bat in 1st Test against West Indies
  • A spin-heavy Pakistan playing XI includes debutant Mohammad Hurraira, who scored half centuries in both innings of a three-day warm-up game against West Indies
  • The tourists awarded Test debut to 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Tevin Imlach, who has scored 1097 runs in 22 games since making his first-class debut in Dec. 2018

MULTAN: Spin-heavy Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against the West Indies on Friday.
Heavy fog delayed the start of the Test match between the two bottom-placed teams of the World Test Championship before Pakistan captain Shan Masood won the coin toss after lunch and opted to bat on a dry wicket tailor-made for spinners.
Pakistan is at No. 8 and West Indies is at No. 9 on the WTC points table after performing under-par over the last one year in red-ball cricket. Australia and South Africa have already qualified for June 11-15 WTC final at Lord’s.
Pakistan has lost eight of its last 10 Test matches while West Indies has yet to win a Test series in this WTC cycle, losing to India, England and South Africa while drawing against Australia and Bangladesh.
One of the two Pakistan wins came at the Multan Cricket Stadium and on the same pitch when it beat England on an engineered dry wicket to favor the spin duo of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali.
Khan and Ali grabbed all 20 England wickets and will team up with recalled leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed to challenge the West Indies on another tailor-made spin wicket.
A spin-heavy Pakistan playing XI includes debutant Mohammad Hurraira, who scored half centuries in both innings of a three-day warm-up game against West Indies in Islamabad.
The 22-year-old Hurraira came in place of Saim Ayub, who has been ruled out of competitive cricket for at least six weeks after fracturing his right ankle during a Test match against South Africa at Cape Town earlier this month.
West Indies has dropped vice-captain Joshua Da Silva and will also be without ill fast bowler Kemar Roach.
The tourists awarded Test debut to 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Tevin Imlach, who has scored 1097 runs in 22 games since making his first class debut in Dec. 2018.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said he would have liked to bat too on a dry pitch, but expected his bowlers to build dot-ball pressure with their disciplined line and lengths.
LINEUPS
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Mohammad Hurraira, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Khurram Shahzad.
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Mikyle Louis, Keacy Carty, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Kevin Sinclair, Justin Greaves, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Jomel Warrican, Jayden Seales.