You are here

  • Home
  • Pakistan to establish trade mission in Oman to boost bilateral commercial relations

Pakistan to establish trade mission in Oman to boost bilateral commercial relations

Pakistan to establish trade mission in Oman to boost bilateral commercial relations
lbtisam Al Farouji, Undersecretary of Investment Promotion, Oman presents souvenir to Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan in Islamabad on July 23, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Commerce Ministry)
Short Url

https://arab.news/5kupy

Updated 24 July 2024
Follow

Pakistan to establish trade mission in Oman to boost bilateral commercial relations

Pakistan to establish trade mission in Oman to boost bilateral commercial relations
  • Pakistan’s commerce minister briefs an Omani delegation about investment opportunities in sports, renewables
  • The Omani delegation shows interest in getting iron ore, fruits and vegetables from Pakistan due to close proximity
Updated 24 July 2024
Arab News Pakistan
Follow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to set up a new trade mission in Oman, its commerce minister Jam Kamal Khan announced on Tuesday, as the country strives to increase its trade relations with neighboring states, particularly in the Middle East.
Faced with prolonged financial challenges, Pakistan has indulged in active economic diplomacy with friendly nations and tried to strengthen regional connectivity to ensure a smooth flow of trade joining the landlocked Central Asian states with the Middle East and beyond.
Pakistan’s commerce minister discussed the bilateral trade with Oman during a meeting with a delegation from the Arab country that was spearheaded by the undersecretary of investment Ibtisam Al Farouji.
“The Minister warmly welcomed the delegation and underscored the historical ties and economic opportunities between the two nations,” said an official statement released after the meeting in Islamabad.
“Jam Kamal Khan stated that the Ministry of Commerce is in the process of opening a new trade mission in Oman, which will ultimately enhance trade relations between the two countries,” it added.
He highlighted investment opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in the economic sectors like sports, information technology, renewable energy, pointing out that the country offered cheap labor, port handling and logistics.
The official statement said the Omani delegation agreed there was substantial potential to enhance bilateral trade of steel, energy renewables and pharmaceuticals.
The delegation also invited Pakistani investment in Oman’s manufacturing sector, offering incentives such as cheap gas and raw materials.
It also showed interest in acquiring raw materials from Pakistan, due to close proximity and low logistics costs, including iron ore, fruits and vegetables.
Both sides expressed optimism about the future of bilateral trade and investment, underscoring the need for continued dialogue and cooperation to fully realize the economic potential of their relationship.

Topics: Pakistan Oman ties Pakistan Oman trade

Pakistani police arrest man accused of insulting Qur’an, save him from being lynched by mob

Pakistani police arrest man accused of insulting Qur’an, save him from being lynched by mob
Updated 11 sec ago
AP
Follow

Pakistani police arrest man accused of insulting Qur’an, save him from being lynched by mob

Pakistani police arrest man accused of insulting Qur’an, save him from being lynched by mob
  • Khan said man allegedly made derogatory remarks about Qur’an during heated argument with brother 
  • Demonstrators threw stones at police station, threatened to burn it if the man was not handed over to them
Updated 11 sec ago
AP

PESHAWAR: Police arrested a man accused of insulting Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday after being alerted that a mob wanted to lynch him, police said.

The man, identified as Humayun Ullah, was arrested in Khazana, an area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police officer Nasir Khan said.

He said the man was arrested as a mob was trying to grab him in a street.

Video posted on social media showed hundreds of people blocking a road near a police station and demanding the man be handed over to them. Gunshots were also heard near the police station, where the man was being held for questioning.

Police officers beat an angry protestor who with others blocked a road near a police station and demanding to handover them an arrested man, accused of insulting Qur’an in Peshawar, Pakistan, on November 19, 2024. (AP)

Khan said the man allegedly made derogatory remarks about the Qur’an during a heated argument with his brother at the family’s home. He said some of the demonstrators threw stones at the police station and threatened to burn it and harm officers if the man was not handed over to them.

Police officers fire tear gas shells to disperse angry protestors, who blocked a road near a police station and demanding to handover them an arrested man, accused of insulting Qur’an in Peshawar, Pakistan, on November 19, 2024. (AP)

Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death — though authorities have yet to carry out a death sentences for blasphemy.

The arrest Tuesday came two months after the government said police had orchestrated the killing of a doctor who was in custody after being accused of blasphemy in southern Sindh province. The doctor had voluntarily surrendered following assurances from officers that he would be given a chance to prove his innocence.

In November 2021, a mob burned a police station and four police posts in northwestern Charsadda district after officers refused to hand over a mentally unstable man accused of desecrating the Qur’an.

Topics: Pakistan police qur'an Holy Qur'an blasphemy mob attack Arab News Pakistan

Supreme Court dismisses petition challenging extension in tenure of army chief

Supreme Court dismisses petition challenging extension in tenure of army chief
Updated 51 min 19 sec ago
Follow

Supreme Court dismisses petition challenging extension in tenure of army chief

Supreme Court dismisses petition challenging extension in tenure of army chief
  • Pakistan earlier this month passed bills to extend the tenures of heads of the armed forces to five years from three
  • Rights advocates say measures by PM Sharif’s coalition could be aimed at shoring up support from powerful military figures
Updated 51 min 19 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the extension of the tenure of Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir, state news agency APP said. 

Pakistan’s parliament earlier this month passed bills to extend the terms of the heads of the armed forces to five years from three, a move that has been opposed by rights activists as well as the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The PTI believes extending the term of commanders including the army chief would deal another blow to the embattled Khan and his party, which blames the military for his downfall. The army denies involvement. 

“The petition was dismissed after the petitioner Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi failed to appear before the court and defend his argument in spite of repeated notices,” APP said. “Also, the new legislation fixing the tenure of all three service chiefs paved the way for the dismissal of the petition.”

The office of the army chief is considered to be the most powerful in the country, with the military having ruled Pakistan for almost half of its 75-year history. Even when not directly in power, the army is considered to be the invisible guiding hand in politics and holds considerable sway in internal security, foreign policy, and economic affairs, among other domains. 

The coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended the passage of the new bills that extend the tenures of the army, navy and air force chiefs, saying the move would check against services chiefs granting themselves extensions and “formalize” the duration of their service. The government says the bills are aimed at building continuity and avoiding the political turmoil that usually surrounds the appointment of the army chief every three years. 

Rights activists and democracy advocates say the measures by the Sharif-led coalition, which is opposed to Khan and took power after an election in February, could be aimed at shoring up support from powerful military figures.

Under the new law, Gen.l Munir, who took office in November 2022 with a timeline to retire in 2025, will serve until 2027 irrespective of a retirement age of 64 for a general.

Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, has been at odds with generals he blames for his 2022 ousting, after he fell out with then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. The military denies it interferes in politics. 

Khan’s party-backed candidates won the most seats in February’s election but fell short of a majority, clearing the way for his opponents led by Sharif to form a government.

Khan’s supporters have since been agitating in parliament and on the streets, alleging that the election was rigged to keep them out of power, which the election commission denies. The PTI says the ruling alliance does not enjoy legitimacy, an accusation the government rejects.

The passage of the new bills on extension in service tenure follows controversial amendments made to the constitution last month, granting lawmakers the authority to nominate the chief justice of Pakistan, who previously used to be automatically appointed according to the principle of seniority.

The amendments allowed the government to bypass the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and appoint Justice Yahya Afridi as the country’s top judge.

The opposition and the legal fraternity have opposed the amendments, arguing that they are aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments and curtailing the independence of the judiciary. The government denies this.

Topics: Pakistan Supreme Court of Pakistan army chief extension Arab News Pakistan

All schools to reopen in Pakistan’s Punjab province as air quality improves

All schools to reopen in Pakistan’s Punjab province as air quality improves
Updated 19 November 2024
Follow

All schools to reopen in Pakistan’s Punjab province as air quality improves

All schools to reopen in Pakistan’s Punjab province as air quality improves
  • Lahore’s air quality index fell to 158 on Tuesday, which IQAir categorizes as unhealthy, after crossing 2,000 last week
  • Record air pollution has triggered mass hospitalizations, school closures and lockdown orders in Punjab province
Updated 19 November 2024
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: Air quality improved in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Tuesday, prompting authorities in the worst-affected Lahore and Multan cities to reopen schools from Wednesday after over ten days of being closed due to record-high pollution levels.

Lahore’s air quality index (AQI) fell to 158 late on Tuesday, which Swedish group IQAir categorizes as unhealthy, after crossing 2,000 in some locations last week.

On Monday, the Punjab government had said schools would reopen across Punjab province, except for in the Lahore and Multan divisions.

“The ambient air quality has improved in Punjab, due to rain in upper parts of Punjab, change in wind direction and speed,” a notification said.

“Therefore, all the educational institutions in the whole province, including Lahore and Multan Division, shall be opened w.e.f. 20-11-2024 (Wednesday).”

The notification said school opening timings could not be before 845am, as smog is thickest in the early morning hours, and all students and staff had to wear face masks.

“There shall be a complete ban on outdoor sports and outdoor co-curricular activities till further orders,” the notification added. “All educational institutions shall introduce class wise school closing timing to avoid traffic congestions.”

Record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, junior and high school closures and stay-at-home orders in several districts of Punjab, including the provincial capital of Lahore, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.

Schools and government offices were closed earlier this month in many districts of Punjab, with the closures affecting the education of more than 20 million students, according to associations representing private and government schools.

Authorities in 18 districts of Punjab also closed all public parks, zoos and museums, historical places, and playgrounds for ten days last week. 

A court in Lahore ordered the government to shut all markets after 8pm, while authorities have already banned barbecuing food without filters and ordered wedding halls to close by 10pm.

Last week, the UN children’s agency said the health of 11 million children in Punjab province was in danger because of air pollution.

Topics: Pakistan Punjab AQI smog Air pollution Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan, ADB sign ‘landmark’ $500 million climate loan agreement

Pakistan, ADB sign ‘landmark’ $500 million climate loan agreement
Updated 19 November 2024
Follow

Pakistan, ADB sign ‘landmark’ $500 million climate loan agreement

Pakistan, ADB sign ‘landmark’ $500 million climate loan agreement
  • Program is aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s capacity for climate change adaptation and disaster risk management
  • Finance minister said last month Pakistan is also targeting around $1 billion in a formal request for climate cash from IMF 
Updated 19 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a “landmark” $500 million dollar loan agreement under the ‘Climate and Disaster Resilience Enhancement Program,’ state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said last month Pakistan was targeting around $1 billion in a formal request for funding from an IMF facility that helps low and middle income countries mitigate climate risk. The IMF already agreed to a $7 billion bailout for Pakistan in September but has additional funding available via its Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), created in 2022 to provide long-term concessional cash for climate-related spending such as adaptation and transitioning to cleaner energy.

“The signing of the [ADB] agreement underscores Pakistan’s commitment to prioritize climate change initiatives and scaling up disaster risk financing using a risk-layered approach,” Radio Pakistan said, quoting Pakistan’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Ahad Cheema. 

The program is aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s capacity for climate change adaptation and disaster risk management and will address the country’s vulnerabilities to natural disasters and climate impacts.

“The core objective of the program is to enhance institutional frameworks for disaster risk management by improving disaster risk mapping, response coordination, and gender-sensitive public investments,” Radio Pakistan added. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who spoke at a number of events at the UN COP29 climate summit last week, used the forum to highlight the need to increase climate finance for vulnerable, developing countries. He said developing countries would need an estimated $6.8 trillion by 2030 to implement less than half of their current nationally determined contributions (NDCs) or national action plans for reducing emissions and adapting to climate impacts defined by the Paris Agreement.

The main task for nearly 200 countries at the COP29 summit, taking place from Nov. 11-22, is to broker a deal that ensures up to trillions of dollars in financing for climate projects worldwide.

Topics: Pakistan Asian Development Bank climate loan agreement Climate and Disaster Resilience Enhancement Program Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan Stock Exchange crosses 96,000 to hit record intraday high

Pakistan Stock Exchange crosses 96,000 to hit record intraday high
Updated 19 November 2024
Follow

Pakistan Stock Exchange crosses 96,000 to hit record intraday high

Pakistan Stock Exchange crosses 96,000 to hit record intraday high
  • Higher remittances, exports, foreign investment credited for bullish activity, analysts say
  • Stock Exchange witnessing bullish trend since government slashed policy rate this month
Updated 19 November 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday surged past 96,000 points to hit a record high in intraday trading, with analysts attributing the rally to a current account surplus in October due to higher remittances, exports and foreign direct investment.

The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed to a record 935.66 points or 0.98 percent to stand at 95,931.33 from the previous close of 94,995.67 points. It touched the 96,036.48 mark for the first time at 2:44pm PST. 

Ahsan Mehanti at the Arif Habib Corporation told Arab News potential investors had weighed surging foreign reserves as well as government decisions over reforms for loss-making state-owned enterprises, independent power producers and energy pricing.

“Stocks bullish on reports of current account surplus of $349 million in Oct. 2024 on higher remittances, exports and FDI rising by 32pc to $904m for Jul-Oct. 2024,” he said. “The next triggers could be easing political noise amid protest calls by opposition.”

Pakistan’s external current account recorded a surplus of $349 million in October 2024, marking the third consecutive month of surplus and the highest in this period. The current account reflects a nation’s transactions with the world, encompassing net trade in goods and services, net earnings on cross-border investments and net transfer payments. 

A surplus indicates that a country is exporting more than it is importing, thereby strengthening its foreign exchange reserves.

A bullish trend has been observed at the stock market since Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 250 basis points, bringing it to 15 percent earlier this month. It’s economic indicators have also steadily improved since securing a 37-month, $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.

Before this, the country went through a prolonged economic crisis that drained its foreign exchange reserves and saw its currency weaken amid double-digit inflation.

Last year, Pakistan narrowly avoided a sovereign default by clinching a last-gasp $3 billion IMF bailout deal. 

Topics: Pakistan Pakistan Stock Exchange PSX

Latest updates

Saudi Arabia’s World Cup hopes dented in Indonesia
Saudi Arabia’s World Cup hopes dented in Indonesia
Forum focuses on women’s role in Saudi economy
Forum focuses on women’s role in Saudi economy
Israeli settler group slams US sanctions over West Bank
Israeli settler group slams US sanctions over West Bank
Developing nations push for action on COP29 financing shortfalls
Developing nations push for action on COP29 financing shortfalls
Hyundai partners with Saudi Ministry and NetZero to plant 20,000 trees
Hyundai partners with Saudi Ministry and NetZero to plant 20,000 trees

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.