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Pakistani journalists in Karachi march in solidarity with media workers killed in Gaza

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Updated 08 October 2024
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Pakistani journalists in Karachi march in solidarity with media workers killed in Gaza

Pakistani journalists in Karachi march in solidarity with media workers killed in Gaza
  • Israel’s military campaign has killed 175 journalists since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office
  • Over 100 journalists demand end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, “fair coverage” of war from Western media
Updated 08 October 2024
NAIMAT KHAN
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KARACHI: Over a hundred Pakistani journalists took part in a march this week in Karachi to express solidarity with media workers killed in Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s military campaigns in the Middle East. 

Israel’s war on Gaza has resulted in the killing of 175 journalists, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office, while the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said that at least 128 journalists and media workers are among over 41,000 killed in the densely populated area since Israel launched its ruthless war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

A large number of journalists marched from the Karachi Press Club in the city to the Governor House on Monday, holding banners denouncing Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and expressing support for the Palestinian people. Rallies in various parts of the country on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of Israel’s war on Gaza. 

“This is actually an attempt to raise that voice for the Palestinian journalists, the people of Palestine, those unarmed people, who are being subjected to extreme brutalities, to stand with them and to make them realize that during such times, when you are being subjected to extreme brutalities, you are not alone,” journalist Nayyar Ali told a crowd of journalists at the march. 

“The entire Muslim world is with you.”

Reporter Aamir Latif said through extensive coverage, journalists have exposed “Israeli brutalities” in Gaza and Lebanon. 

“So, it is not something which we can say [is] the coincidence,” Latif told Arab News. “They are deliberately targeting journalists. Two days before, they have targeted the 175th journalist in Gaza since Oct. 7.”

Latif was referring to Palestinian journalist Hassan Hamad who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza on Oct. 6. Days earlier, the journalist had said he was warned by an Israeli officer to stop filming in Gaza. 

Veteran Karachi-based journalist and analyst Mazhar Abbas called on the Western media to provide “fair coverage” to Gaza and the Israeli military campaign in Beirut. 

“The policymakers of the Western media should revisit their policy, should give more respect to journalism, should give more respect to the fair coverage,” he said. 

Topics: Karachi Palestine

Pakistani confectionary firms eye growth after multimillion dollar deals at ISM Middle East exhibition

Pakistani confectionary firms eye growth after multimillion dollar deals at ISM Middle East exhibition
Updated 10 sec ago
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Pakistani confectionary firms eye growth after multimillion dollar deals at ISM Middle East exhibition

Pakistani confectionary firms eye growth after multimillion dollar deals at ISM Middle East exhibition
  • Three-day ISM Middle East 2025 confectionary exhibition featured over 700 exhibitors from 66 countries
  • Nineteen Pakistani firms displayed premium confectionery, baked goods, chocolates, snacks and more
Updated 10 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani confectionary companies are confident of expanding into the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North African regions after signing agreements worth millions of dollars at the recently held international ISM Middle East 2025 exhibition, Pakistan’s trade and investment counselor in the UAE said this week. 

The three-day ISM Middle East 2025, billed as the largest international confectionery and snacks trade event across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia regions, was held in Dubai from Sept. 15-17. It featured over 700 exhibitors from 66 countries, who showcased more than 60,000 new products. 

The global event brought together major brands, buyers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers worldwide under one roof to spot next-generation products and forge business connections. Nineteen Pakistani companies took part in the event, which included 17 private firms and two under the umbrella of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), the Pakistani mission in the UAE said. These companies showcased confectionery, baked and frozen goods, biscuits, cakes, chocolates, candies, chips and snacks.

“Most of our exhibitors were immensely confident about the expected outcome from the large number of deals and various business leads generated during the show,” Ali Zeb Khan, Pakistan’s trade and investment counselor in the UAE, told Arab News on Monday.

He said the two companies participating under the TDAP secured “strong” business leads from existing and new buyers across the MENA region, helping them tap into new markets.

“One company has confirmed that it has gotten almost eight MoUs signed that will create a good sum of export proceeds, more than that of last year,” Khan said. 

He added that the other firm was also sure that the various business leads that it had generated at the exhibition would mature soon. Khan said the other 17 companies that participated privately also secured numerous MoUs and business deals worth millions of dollars.

The official noted that during the event, international buyers and industry leaders praised the quality, variety and competitive pricing of Pakistani products.

Ahsan Ali, director of 7 Paramount, a Karachi-based company that is considered one of the leading confectionery firms in Pakistan, said his organization secured four deals of over $300,000 and generated several leads during the three-day event.

“It was a highly fruitful participation and we are confident that the leads generated during the exhibition will mature in the coming months, significantly boosting business volumes,” Ali told Arab News.

He said that although costly raw materials put Pakistani companies at a price disadvantage, the response remained strong due to the quality of their products.

“Our company showcased its specialized products such as bubble gums, lollipops, candies, toffees and chews,” he added.

Another exhibitor, Ali Imran, who is the managing director of the Multan-based Amna Foods Industries, described his first participation in the ISM exhibition as a “valuable experience” that would help expand his product market.

“We have signed six deals with the different companies from the Gulf region,” he told Arab News. 

Imran said he could not disclose the volume of the business deals as they were confidential. 

“In addition, several other deals have been initiated and discussions are ongoing, which is why I am still in Dubai,” he added.

Topics: Pakistan UAE trade Pakistan exports ISM Middle East 2025 exhibition

Pakistan PM to join Muslim leaders’ meeting with Trump at UNGA sidelines today

Pakistan PM to join Muslim leaders’ meeting with Trump at UNGA sidelines today
Updated 23 September 2025
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Pakistan PM to join Muslim leaders’ meeting with Trump at UNGA sidelines today

Pakistan PM to join Muslim leaders’ meeting with Trump at UNGA sidelines today
  • Trump to meet leaders of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE. Qatar, Turkiye, Indonesia, Egypt and Jordan, says White House
  • Meeting takes place as Israel intensifies military operations in Gaza, where it has killed over 65,000 since October 2023
Updated 23 September 2025
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump will meet the leaders of Muslim countries Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkiye, Indonesia and others today, Tuesday, in a multilateral meeting at the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed.

Pakistan’s foreign office said on Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would join “select” leaders of Muslim countries in a meeting with Trump at the sidelines of the UNGA. The foreign office had said both sides “would exchange views on issues pertaining to regional and international peace and security.”

The meeting takes place at a crucial time for the Middle East region as Israel ramps up its military operations in Gaza, where it has killed over 65,000 people since October 2023. Several Muslim nations have rallied against the Israeli forces and urged the international community to hold Tel Aviv accountable for the killing of innocent civilians.

“The president will also later in the day hold a multilateral meeting with Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan,” Leavitt said during a press briefing on Monday. 

Pakistan’s PM arrived in New York on Monday to attend the 80th session of the UNGA, which takes place amid raging conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine and rising tensions in the South Asia region, from Sept.23-29.

Sharif’s meeting with Trump also reflects Pakistan’s improving ties with Washington. After years of strained relations during the Joe Biden administration over differences on several key issues, Islamabad and Washington have warmed up to each other during Trump’s ongoing tenure.

Pakistan praised the American president and nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize after he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan on May 10. The militaries of the two nuclear-armed neighbors had engaged in the worst fighting between them since 1999, killing over 70 on both sides of the border before Washington intervened.

Pakistan’s ties with the US also improved after Washington’s relations with India took a turn for the worse when Trump announced trade tariffs against New Delhi earlier this year. Islamabad and Washington, on the other hand, finalized a trade deal.

Sharif, who is in the US to lead Pakistan’s delegation during the UNGA session, will draw the world’s attention to atrocities in Palestine and Kashmir, hold bilateral meetings with world leaders and senior UN officials and also attend key seminars and events.

Topics: Pakistan US Ties US President Donald Trump Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Foreign shipping lines warn Pakistan of trade disruption over ‘ill-planned’ tax requirements

Foreign shipping lines warn Pakistan of trade disruption over ‘ill-planned’ tax requirements
Updated 23 September 2025
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Foreign shipping lines warn Pakistan of trade disruption over ‘ill-planned’ tax requirements

Foreign shipping lines warn Pakistan of trade disruption over ‘ill-planned’ tax requirements
  • Association says officials compelling non-resident ship owners to register, obtain national tax number and take exposure to ‘unpredictable’ tax environment
  • Federal Board of Revenue says registering non-resident ship owners is a statutory requirement, aims to curb outflow of ‘illegal remittances’ from the country
Updated 23 September 2025
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: Foreign shipping lines handling 90 percent of Pakistan’s seaborne trade have warned of a “total disruption” of the country’s imports and exports, citing “ill-planned” tax requirements that their agents say Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is trying to enforce.

In a letter written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif dated Sept. 19, the Pakistan Ship’s Agents Association (PSAA) said FBR officials were compelling non-resident ship owners to register themselves on the national tax collector’s portal, obtain national tax number (NTN), file tax returns and take exposure to the country’s “unpredictable” tax environment.

Calling the move as “ill-planned”, the PSAA warned of an “impending crisis” that is likely to affect Pakistan’s entire seaborne trade.

“By arbitrary one-sided actions, FBR is creating extreme hardships for foreign flag vessels upon which Pakistan’s trade is entirely dependent,” PSAA chairman Mohammed A. Rajpar said in the letter addressed to the prime minister.

“You are requested to direct the concerned authorities to restore the previous system… rather than resorting to strong arm tactics which tantamount to threatening total disruption to Pakistan’s imports and exports.”

PSAA represents foreign shipping lines such as Maersk, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), CMA CGM and around 50 others.

The South Asian country depends on these shipping lines for the transportation of 90 percent of its seaborne trade, which amounted to $90.4 billion in the last fiscal year that ended in June, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The remaining 10 percent cargoes, mostly comprising oil, are shipped by the state-run Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC).

Rajpar said all non-resident foreign shipping firms had their authorized representatives present in Pakistan and had been fulfilling and complying with all legal requirements as far as income tax was concerned.

“This move by FBR runs totally counter to the current government’s ease of doing business policies, particularly when dealing with foreign entities,” the PSAA chairman said.

REVENUE AUTHORITY REJECTS CLAIMS

The warning comes as Sharif’s government has joined hands with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and bilateral partners like Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to revive Pakistan’s debt-ridden economy by increasing revenues.

The IMF’s $7 billion loan program, which Islamabad secured last year, requires the government to broaden the country’s narrow tax base and plug revenue leakages.

“The claim that FBR has introduced an unlawful requirement is misplaced,” Wasiq Mushtaq, a deputy commissioner at the FBR’s inland revenue service, told Arab News, citing relevant income tax law which “expressly requires every ship’s master to file voyage-wise freight returns in Pakistan.”

“The system is lawful, internationally consistent, and facilitates trade as process of ship’s assessment would be transparent and digitally handled thus more expedient rather than hindering it.”

He said registering non-resident ship owners was a statutory requirement and was being practiced globally, citing examples of India, Malaysia and Australia.

The non-enforcement of relevant law had resulted in the outflow of “illegal remittances” from the country, according to the FBR official. He did not specify a number for the said remittances.

It has “prima-facie resulted in huge revenue losses,” Mushtaq added.

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

Syed Tahir Hussain, the PSAA secretary general, insisted that the tax requirements were causing difficulties for all foreign shipping lines, which might stop transporting shipments if the authorities did not address the issue.

“The shipping lines would either stop calling at Pakistani ports, while those already anchored at local ports would not be able to sail out for the want of clearance from income tax authorities,” Hussain warned.

Topics: freight shipping Karachi port Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)

Pakistan marks Saudi National Day with heightened spirit after landmark defense deal

Pakistan marks Saudi National Day with heightened spirit after landmark defense deal
Updated 23 September 2025
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Pakistan marks Saudi National Day with heightened spirit after landmark defense deal

Pakistan marks Saudi National Day with heightened spirit after landmark defense deal
  • Pakistan’s capital Islamabad shows portraits of Crown Prince Mohammed with Pakistani leaders, with buildings adorned with Saudi flag color
  • Focal Minister for Saudi Arabia Musadik Malik says the recent defense pact has brought new zeal to historic partnership between both nations
Updated 23 September 2025
Waseem Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is celebrating the Saudi National Day today, Tuesday, with greater zeal after both countries signed a landmark defense agreement this month, official said, reaffirming their commitment to further strengthening their brotherly ties and expanding cooperation across every sphere.

The Saudi National Day is celebrated each year on September 23 to commemorate the proclamation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 by King Abdulaziz. This year, it comes days after Pakistan and the Kingdom signed a ‘Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement.’

Under the pact signed in Riyadh, aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both. The deal, sealed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s state visit to the Kingdom this month, is meant to enhance joint deterrence and deepen decades of military and security cooperation.

To mark the Saudi National Day, Pakistan’s capital Islamabad has been decorated with Saudi flags and pictures of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, with buildings adorned with green lights symbolizing the color of the Saudi flag.

“Every single time, whether it was economic hardship, or if there was any kind of defense-related situation, we always found the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] by our side and every single time, any issue, if Saudi [Arabia] needed support of Pakistan on any issue, whether it be foreign policy or any other issue, we have been by their side,” Musadik Malik, Pakistan’s climate change minister who is also the focal person for Pakistan-Saudi Arabia bilateral collaboration, told Arab News, explaining the depth of their bilateral ties.

“This formalization [of a defense agreement] has created a new zeal among the people of Pakistan and also the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. So, I think, you would see the same things, all those things that have been happening forever, but with a greater zeal.”

This is the first time Pakistan will hold the Saudi National Day ceremony at the spacious Convention Center building in Islamabad on Tuesday evening, which is likely to be attended by top Pakistani government functionaries, officials of the Saudi embassy and other dignitaries.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Sharif issued their special congratulatory messages for the occasion.

“On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I extend my heartfelt felicitations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and to the brotherly people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of their National Day,” Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This day is a reminder of how, in a relatively short span of time, Saudi Arabia has set remarkable examples of progress and stability under its wise and determined leadership.”

The bond between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is rooted in trust, devotion and brotherhood, according to the president.

“For the people of Pakistan, our spiritual connection with the Kingdom is deepened by the presence of Islam’s two holiest sites— the Holy Ka’aba and the Masjid-e-Nabwi. This sacred link lends an enduring strength and uniqueness to our friendship,” he said.

“We take pride in the fact that in recent days our ties have reached new milestones. The fresh partnership forged in the fields of defense and security is not only a reflection of our mutual trust but also a vital step toward peace and stability in the region.”

In his message on the Saudi National Day, PM Sharif extended his warmest congratulations to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed and the people of Saudi Arabia for the exceptional development journey of the Kingdom.

“Millions of Pakistanis consider Saudi Arabia their second home, and are actively involved in its construction and development. The services of Pakistani brotherhood in Saudi Arabia are the cause of cordial relations, prosperity and progress between the two brotherly countries,” he said.

“Today, on the occasion of Saudi Arabia’s National Day, I reiterate my resolve on behalf of Pakistan that we are determined to further strengthen this long-lasting partnership. May Allah Almighty always bless the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with progress and glory.”

Pakistan’s space agency to unveil ‘Sky Clinic’ telemedicine solution at Karachi expo today

Pakistan’s space agency to unveil ‘Sky Clinic’ telemedicine solution at Karachi expo today
Updated 22 September 2025
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Pakistan’s space agency to unveil ‘Sky Clinic’ telemedicine solution at Karachi expo today

Pakistan’s space agency to unveil ‘Sky Clinic’ telemedicine solution at Karachi expo today
  • The telemedicine terminal, designed to serve remote communities in Pakistan, is powered by SUPARCO’s satellite system
  • It combines diagnostic tools, monitoring devices and real-time consultations to bridge the health care accessibility gap
Updated 22 September 2025
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national space agency, SUPARCO, said on Monday it would showcase its ‘Sky Clinic’ telemedicine solution at the ITCN Asia 2025 technology expo in Karachi on Sept. 23-25, which aims to expand health care access to underserved communities in the country.

The state-of-the-art telemedicine terminal, designed to provide quality health care services to underserved and remote communities across Pakistan, is powered by SUPARCO’s own satellite system and ensures secure, reliable and high-speed connectivity even in the most challenging terrains.

By combining advanced diagnostic tools, vital signs monitoring devices, and real-time doctor consultations, Sky Clinic bridges the health care accessibility gap by bringing medical expertise directly to patients, according to the national space agency.

“With seamless integration into health record systems and rapid deployment capabilities, the solution offers a practical model for expanding health care access,” it said in a statement.

“The terminal is portable, user-friendly, and supported by PakSat MM1 satellite connectivity, enabling uninterrupted service delivery with nationwide coverage.”

In May last year, SUPARCO launched Pakistan’s first multi-mission communication satellite, PAKSAT MM1, into space through Chinese assistance, which became fully operational by Oct. 2024.

The agency has also been playing a key role in supporting disaster management by providing satellite imagery, flood monitoring data, crop assessment, urban planning and even climate studies.

“The [telemedicine] system’s comprehensive approach redefines how health care can be delivered to areas where conventional medical infrastructure is limited or absent,” it said, inviting visitors and industry professionals to explore solution at the ITCN Asia and witness firsthand how space technology is transforming health care access in Pakistan.

Topics: suparco

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