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Pakistan PM urges Security Council to end Israel’s ‘genocidal war’ in Gaza, demands sanctions

Update Pakistan PM urges Security Council to end Israel’s ‘genocidal war’ in Gaza, demands sanctions
Palestinians search for survivors amid the rubble of a building, which collapsed after Israeli bombardment on a building adjacent to it, in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City on September 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
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Updated 3 min 36 sec ago
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Pakistan PM urges Security Council to end Israel’s ‘genocidal war’ in Gaza, demands sanctions

Pakistan PM urges Security Council to end Israel’s ‘genocidal war’ in Gaza, demands sanctions
  • The prime minister says the world body can no longer ignore the ‘festering’ dispute in Kashmir
  • Sharif seeks effective measures against the ‘resurgence of the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan’
Updated 3 min 36 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the United Nations Security Council to end Israel’s “genocidal war” against the people of Palestine and impose sanctions against it while participating in the “Leadership for Peace” debate on Wednesday.
Israel launched a military operation in Gaza following a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which the group said was in response to the worsening conditions faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
Since then, the conflict has claimed over 43,000 lives, including a significant number of women and children, according to Palestinian health officials.
World bodies, including the International Court of Justice, have condemned Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and criticized the conduct of the war, which has targeted hospitals and residential areas, leading to disproportionate civilian casualties.
“We must compel Israel to halt its genocidal war in Gaza and prevent its attempt to provoke a wider conflict in the Middle East,” the prime minister said in a brief statement. “It is time to consider sanctions against Israel, including an arms and trade embargo.”
“It is time to hold its leadership accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people,” he added.




Pakistan Prime Minister Speaks during UN Security Council’s open debate on “Leadership for Peace” on the sidelines of 79th UNGA in New York on September 25, 2024. (Screengrab/UN)

The prime minister noted that proliferating wars in the Middle East and Europe along with great power rivalries and growing poverty were threating the foundations of world order.
He urged the Security Council to develop an impartial plan for a ceasefire and peaceful solution for the war in Ukraine and not allow its prolongation or escalation.
Sharif also discussed the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir, saying the UN could no longer ignore the “festering” dispute.
“It poses an ever present threat to international peace and security,” he maintained. “The Council must call for a halt to the massive violations of the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people and implement its own resolutions that demand a plebiscite for self-determination in Kashmir.”
The prime minister expressed concern over the regional security situation, asking the world body to “effectively address the resurgence of the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan” while mentioning Daesh and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
He called for “zero tolerance” for the illegal use of force and revival of global efforts to halt and reverse the arms race in nuclear and conventional weapons, promising his country’s full cooperation with other member states to pursue these objectives.

The prime minister later met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and later told the media that ” the sacrifices of Palestinian brothers and sisters, their patience, their bravery will not go [to] waste and Insha’Allah it will result in [the] independent State of Palestine.”
Abbas also acknowledged Pakistan’s unstinting support, saying it began even before 1948.
“Their [the Pakistani] position is fully with the Palestinian people and they help the Palestinian people as much as they can,” he added.

Topics: Israeli war on Gaza Pakistan at UNGA UN Security Council (UNSC)

Pakistan to spend $2 billion on cotton imports amid low production

Pakistan to spend $2 billion on cotton imports amid low production
Updated 38 min 11 sec ago
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Pakistan to spend $2 billion on cotton imports amid low production

Pakistan to spend $2 billion on cotton imports amid low production
  • Industry stakeholders expect a shortfall of four million bales due to heatwave, excessive rains this year
  • Pakistan does not have a single cotton variety that can survive above 43 degrees Celsius with good yield
Updated 38 min 11 sec ago
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s industry is poised to spend over $2 billion this fiscal year on cotton imports to fulfill domestic needs and export textile products, as the crop yield is expected to register a shortfall of around four million bales, an industry stakeholder said on Wednesday.
Cotton is considered the backbone of the national economy, serving as the main raw material for the textile sector, which contributes about 60 percent to the overall exports of the South Asian nation. The cotton industry employs around 15 million people, and the country’s textile and apparel exports were recorded at $16.65 billion during the last fiscal year.
Speaking to Arab News, Zakirullah Khalidi, general secretary of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association, said cotton bale arrivals in the market had so far registered a reduction of around 63 percent compared to the previous year.
He added that this owed to a heatwave and excessive rains during the cotton-growing period from April to September.
“The industry will have to import cotton worth over $2 billion this fiscal year to fulfill its domestic and export needs,” he said.
Khalidi informed the cotton arrival data would be compiled until April next year, but estimates suggest the production will be around seven million bales, a reduction of at least four million bales from the eleven million bales targeted for this year.
“This is going to be a huge economic loss for the industry and the country as well,” he said, attributing the reduction in yield to climate change.
The industry primarily imports cotton raw material from the United States, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to address the shortage and meet export orders. Most of Pakistan’s cotton is grown in the southern part of Punjab province, while the rest comes from Sindh province.
Sajid Mahmood, head of the transfer of technology department at the government-run Central Cotton Research Institute in Multan, said the ideal temperature for cotton fruiting and growth in Pakistan is around 35-40 degrees Celsius, but this year, temperatures rose to 48 degrees Celsius for a prolonged period in the cotton-growing regions.
“Pakistan doesn’t have a single cotton variety that can survive with good yield above 43 degrees Celsius,” he told Arab News, adding the institute has produced a new seed variety known as CYTO547 that can withstand temperatures above 48 degrees Celsius, though it is still in the trial phase.
Mahmood said erratic weather patterns during the cotton growing season had provided a suitable breeding ground for various pests, which are expected to damage over 1.5 million bales of the crop.
“Farmers are also switching to other cash crops as cotton is no longer profitable,” he said. “Therefore, the cultivation area has also reduced significantly.”
In Punjab alone, the cotton sowing area shrank from 4.4 million acres to 3.2 million acres this year, as farmers switched to sesame, sugarcane and paddy crops for better profits, he said.
“The sesame crop area has increased from 0.8 million acres last year to 1.7 million acres this year, as it is now considered a cash crop in the southern parts of Punjab,” he said.
Babar Bilal, a cotton grower in Rahim Yar Khan, said cotton yields have declined significantly in the last couple of years due to erratic weather patterns, pests and low-quality seeds.
“Farmers are switching to other crops like paddy and sesame to earn better profits as cotton is no longer a cash crop for the growers,” he told Arab News.

Topics: Pakistan Cotton Crop

IMF executive board approves $7 billion loan program for Pakistan

IMF executive board approves $7 billion loan program for Pakistan
Updated 26 September 2024
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IMF executive board approves $7 billion loan program for Pakistan

IMF executive board approves $7 billion loan program for Pakistan
  • Pakistani PM welcomes deal, thanks Saudi Arabia, UAE, China for continued support to get loan package
  • Economists say the program will strengthen macroeconomic stability, help in talks with other financial agencies
Updated 26 September 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) decision to approve a $7 billion loan program for the country, his office said on Wednesday.
The IMF has approved the bailout package for Pakistan after the South Asian nation agreed to strengthen fiscal and monetary policy and implement reforms to broaden the tax base, secure a level playing field for investment and enhance human capital.
In July, the Fund reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies with Pakistan for 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of about $7 billion. The IMF executive board has now approved the 25th loan program that Pakistan has obtained since 1958.
 “We will continue to struggle to achieve economic progress targets,” the prime minister said while expressing satisfaction over approval of the IMF loan package.
“If this hard work continues, this will be Pakistan’s last IMF program,” he continued while thanking the friendly countries including Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates for their support to get the program.
Economists have termed the loan approval a positive development that would help boost investors’ confidence and make it possible for the government to tap international markets for the commercial borrowing.
Dr. Khaqan Hassan Najeeb, senior economist and former adviser to the government, said Pakistan’s engagement with the IMF could strengthen the nascent macroeconomic stability.
“It will ensure the $26 billion, Pakistan’s gross financing needs are fully met and can bring the other lenders, commercial banks, bilateral and multilateral partners on board,” he told Arab News.
“More importantly, it buys Pakistan time and breathing space to do the structural work that is necessary to put the economy on a path that it does not have to go to the doorsteps of the IMF for the 26th time,” he said.
Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Corporation, one of Pakistan’s leading business groups termed the IMF loan approval “a positive development,” saying this would help the country get the bilateral and multilateral support from different financial institutions including activation of $2 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank.
“This IMF loan program will help the stocks reach new heights with a boost to investor confidence and stabilize the rupee against the US dollar,” Mehanti told Arab News.
The IMF said in its statement the three-year loan program “will require sound policies and reforms” to support Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its economy “and create conditions for a stronger, more inclusive, and resilient growth.”
It acknowledged Pakistan “has taken key steps to restoring economic stability with consistent reforms,” though it noted that the country’s vulnerabilities and structural challenges remained formidable.
“A difficult business environment, weak governance, and an outsized role of the state hinder investment, which remains very low compared to peers,” it added.
IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva also held a brief meeting with the Pakistani prime minister on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly Session.
“We do have good news,” she told the media following the meeting. “We have completed the review of the [loan] program successfully. I want to congratulate the government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan for moving forward with the home-defined, Pakistan-owned reforms, and they are bringing fruits. Growth is up. Inflation is down. The economy is on a sound path.”
“The government aims to collect taxes from the rich and strengthening the Benazir social program to support the poor,” she added.
With input from AFP

Topics: Pakistan IMF Talks Pakistan IMF IMF bailout

For Karachi’s gravediggers, hard lives meet daily death at city’s over 250 cemeteries

For Karachi’s gravediggers, hard lives meet daily death at city’s over 250 cemeteries
Updated 26 September 2024
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For Karachi’s gravediggers, hard lives meet daily death at city’s over 250 cemeteries

For Karachi’s gravediggers, hard lives meet daily death at city’s over 250 cemeteries
  • Many gravediggers in the port city have been involved in the profession through generations but struggle to make ends meet
  • As space for graves runs out in the city of 20 million, locals complain of overcharging and bribery by officials and gravediggers
Updated 26 September 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: This year, it will be over four decades since Muhammad Jameel, 52, first began digging graves as a nine-year-old.
Earlier this month, Jameel used his rusty shovel to break the soil for a new grave, looking forward to the $5 he will take home to his family of eight from Karachi’s Yasinabad Graveyard, one of over 250 cemeteries in the southern port city. The cemetery is officially closed, having run out of space, but the funerals keep coming.
Indeed, hundreds of graveyards have filled to capacity and become prime real estate in the city of over 20 million people. Yet, people like Jameel, who have been involved in the profession of gravedigging through generations, struggle to make ends meet.
“I have been working here since I was 9 years old,” Jameel, a third-generation undertaker, told Arab News as he wiped sweat from his brow and began to dig. “I used to pour water [on the graves]. My maternal grandfather used to be here. With him I would dig graves.”
Today, Jameel’s responsibilities involve digging new graves, lowering the dead into the ground, and washing and repairing graves and tombstones for little reward in terms of both money and respect.
“If a funeral or body comes, we work on it as if it were a member of our own family, it feels as if someone in our home has died, we work like that,” the gravedigger said.
“But people don’t think much of us … Making ends meet is very difficult for us. The children also bring in some income from various sources and that’s how we manage to get by.”
Younus Khan Niazi, a 40-year-old second-generation gravedigger at Karachi’s Mewa Shah Graveyard, said there were days when he went home empty-handed.
“A laborer who goes to work in the morning earns a daily wage and brings some money home, but in our cemetery, there’s a chance to earn something only if a body arrives,” he said.
Despite the small pay-off, the nature of the work of death means gravediggers often have to stop all of their life’s activities in the lime of duty.
Jameel recalled one such instance when he missed the birth of his child: 
“The delivery was happening there [at hospital], I was digging a grave here.”
And while Jameel said his family was likely to quit the profession due to a lack of respect and money, Niazi, who has four sons, said he intended to pass on the tradition to his children.
“Just as I took over after my father, my son will take over after me. Skill is wealth, and this cemetery work, grave digging and laying blocks, is a skill.”
Niazi acknowledged that his line of work meant he often had to miss out on important family occasions but said he could not be ungrateful that other people’s grief was putting food on his table.
“When someone passes away, they will come to me to dig the grave,” Niazi said. “I will dig the grave and it will provide livelihood for my children.”
GRAVE BUSINESS
Of the over 250 graveyards in Karachi, only 38 are managed by the state Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), and of these, six have reached capacity and are officially closed, namely Yasinabad, Paposh Nagar, Society, Model Colony, Qur’angi and Mehmoodabad. 
And while many of the cemeteries like Yasinabad and Society no longer have space for new graves, locals and experts say this has created opportunities for both officials and gravediggers to make money by overcharging grieving families and asking for bribes. 
One mourner, Owais Ali, an electronics trader, said he had wanted to bury his mother in the Society graveyard near his house but was asked by the supervisor of the graveyard and on-duty gravediggers to pay over $300 for a spot, instead of the KMC fee of around $35. Ali managed to negotiate the amount down to Rs35,000 ($126) “by using a contact,” he said. 
Those who don’t have such contacts end up paying as much as Rs200,000 ($719) for “prime locations,” said Zahid Farooq, a joint director at the nonprofit Urban Resource Center.
“People are forced to bury their loved ones in existing graves due to a lack of space. They are also forced to buy graves at exorbitant prices,” Farooq said, calling the graveyard business a “mafia.”
But he commiserated with gravediggers who he said received little in return for their hard work while cemetery supervisors enjoyed a “good lifestyle.” He said everyone from police to municipal and district administration authorities shared in the profits. 
“They all together share in the expensive graves and the excessive costs,” Farooq added. 
KMC spokesperson Ali Hasan Sajid admitted that graves were regularly sold at rates higher than the KMC fee but blamed gravediggers and families of the deceased for the corruption. 
People often wanted burials in graveyards where their relatives were already buried, he said: “They strongly insist on being accommodated, often tempting the gravediggers with money.”
Low paid gravediggers accepted bribes and assigned graves without the approval of KMC authorities, Sajid insisted. 
“When we investigate and ask the gravediggers if they made such a demand [for higher fee], they deny it,” the KMC spokesman said, admitting that burials were still taking place at the six officially closed graveyards in the city.
“People insist that they need a grave [at this place] in any case and at any cost.”
Gravediggers say they aren’t involved in either the politics or business of the trade. 
Muhammad Abid, a 38-year-old gravedigger, said his community barely made ends meet and had no say in the allocation of graves or how much they cost.
“Our job,” he said, “is only to dig graves.”

Topics: Karachi graveyard

Pakistan PM, Bangladesh chief adviser agree to revive bilateral ties and enhance cooperation

Pakistan PM, Bangladesh chief adviser agree to revive bilateral ties and enhance cooperation
Updated 26 September 2024
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Pakistan PM, Bangladesh chief adviser agree to revive bilateral ties and enhance cooperation

Pakistan PM, Bangladesh chief adviser agree to revive bilateral ties and enhance cooperation
  • Shehbaz Sharif meets Muhammad Yunus at UN headquarters in New York
  • Both sides agree to revive SAARC platform, promote cooperation in various sectors
Updated 26 September 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus held a bilateral meeting in New York on Wednesday during which the two agreed to revive bilateral ties and expand cooperation in various sectors, a statement from Sharif’s office said.
The Pakistani prime minister met Yunus at the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York at the UN headquarters.
Historically bitter ties between the two countries have seen a thaw in recent weeks after the government of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina was dismissed following violent student-led protests in August. Both sides have since then expressed the desire to improve relations with each other.
Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s strong fraternal ties with Bangladesh, noting that they were based on common faith, history, and culture, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
“He also emphasized that both sides need to work together to further strengthen the bilateral relations,” Sharif’s office said, adding that he called for fostering relations through parliamentary exchanges, people-to-people contacts and interactions among sportspersons, academics, artists and students.
The Pakistani premier also invited Yunus to undertake an official visit to his country, stressing the importance of regional cooperation and dialogue.
“Both sides agreed that there was a need to work closely at bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels for the progress and development of the peoples of both countries,” the PMO said.
Separately, Yunus’ office said the Bangladeshi leader called for the revival of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as a top platform for cooperation in South Asia.
Yunus said reviving SAARC could be “a good way” to revitalize ties between the two countries and sought Pakistan’s support in that regard, his office said.
“Shehbaz Sharif promised his support for the initiative and suggested the countries move step by step in reviving the regional platform,” Yunus’ office said.
“Sharif said Bangladesh and Pakistan should open a ‘new page’ in their relations to enhance cooperation in various aspects,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani prime minister expressed his country’s interest in investing in Bangladesh’s textile and leather sectors while Yunus proposed an exchange of youth programs between the two countries.
“The two countries also discussed renewing foreign secretary-level talks and reactivating the joint commission between the two countries,” Yunus’ office said.
Established together as one independent nation in 1947, Bangladesh won liberation from then-West Pakistan in 1971. Relations between the two countries continued to deteriorate during Hasina’s administration, which prosecuted several members of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party for war crimes relating to the 1971 conflict.
Pakistan’s foreign office said Islamabad desired “robust, multifaceted and friendly relations” with Bangladesh after Hasina’s ouster.

Topics: Pakistan at UNGA Pakistan Bangladesh UNGA 79

Pakistan to announce new policy promoting electric vehicles ‘soon’— minister 

Pakistan to announce new policy promoting electric vehicles ‘soon’— minister 
Updated 25 September 2024
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Pakistan to announce new policy promoting electric vehicles ‘soon’— minister 

Pakistan to announce new policy promoting electric vehicles ‘soon’— minister 
  • Minister says policy to accelerate sale of two-wheelers and three-wheelers in country
  • Pakistan’s urban areas exhibit some of the world’s highest levels of air pollution
Updated 25 September 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government plans to introduce a new policy “soon” to promote electric vehicles in the country, Power Minister Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Laghari said on Wednesday, as Islamabad seeks to cut its expensive fuel import bill and shore up its foreign exchange reserves. 

Pakistan approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP) in 2019 with the goal that electric vehicles would comprise 30 percent of all passenger vehicles and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030. It set an even more ambitious target of electric vehicles comprising 90 percent of all vehicle sales by 2040. 

Pakistan’s urban areas exhibit some of the world’s highest levels of air pollution, primarily due to sub-2.5 μm particulate emissions. This issue significantly impairs both the country’s economy and the quality of life of its residents. Road transport is a significant contributor to air pollution as around 23 percent of Pakistan’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from vehicles.

“The minister highlighted that a policy that encourages the adoption of electric vehicles will be announced soon, which will accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, particularly two-wheelers, and three-wheelers,” Pakistan’s power ministry said in a statement. 

Leghari was speaking at an event titled, “Pakistan Power Reforms Project” at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi. The minister spoke about a roadmap for reforms that needed to catalyze industrial and economic growth in the country. 

“Such an intervention will not just increase electricity demand, but also reduce household expenditure on transport, as well as significantly reducing import bill associated with fuel imports,” Leghari said. 

In August, Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD announced its entry into the country, saying that up to 50 percent of all vehicles bought in Pakistan by 2030 will be electrified in some form in line with global targets. 

Investment company ADM Group also announced in August it would invest up to $250 million for the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Pakistan in a move likely to boost technological advancements in the country’s automobile industry and curtail pollution.

Speaking about the government’s reforms, Leghari said that the country’s power division was working toward improving the governance standards of distribution companies “while pushing for a radical transformation of transmission infrastructure to improve efficiency and reduce losses.”

Talking about surplus generation capacity, Leghari said plans were in place to “stimulate industrial demand” to accelerate industrial and economic growth.

The minister highlighted that Pakistan has one of the cleaner energy mixes in the world, with more than 55 percent of electricity generated from clean hydel, nuclear and renewable sources. 

“More importantly, the same would exceed 70 percent within a few years,” he concluded. “Similarly, almost 75 percent of electricity generated in the country is through indigenous sources, and the same is expected to increase to more than 90 percent over the next few years.”

Topics: ‘Electric Vehicle Policy

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