RAWALPINDI, NOV 26: Imran Khan reached Pindi amid militant threat as PTI seeks to overthrow govt.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had advised Imran Khan to postpone his protest march to Islamabad, citing militant threats
Mian Anjum asks SBP to follow region to maintain markup to stimulate growth
DNA
KARACHI, NOV 26: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Businessmen Panel (BMP) on Sunday rejected the central bank’s decision of jacking up key policy rate by 100 basis points, taking it to 16%, the highest since 1998, stating that Pakistan’s interest rate was already very high in view of the regional countries markup rates.
BMP Chairman and FPCCI former president Mian Anjum Nisar asked the SBP to follow regional countries, who have maintained their key policy rate at average 6.5% to attract investment and stimulate the economy.
These countries can manage surging inflation through regulatory tools without throttling growth, so Pakistan should also take benefit of such approach, he added. He stressed the need for reduction in discount rate, arguing that low key policy rate is essential to make Pakistani exporting sector as well as the local industry competitive.
In the absence of any stable atmosphere, the SBP’s decision to raise interest rate will further ruin the economy, he said, adding this is why the businessmen had opposed the bill for SBP’s autonomy.
Mian Anjum Nisar also demanded the immediate reduction in electricity tariff especially for SMEs as a first step towards cut in production cost while the second and vital step toward this direction would be bringing discount rate to the regional level with a view to provide level-playing field especially to the export industry.
The decision would have the same importance for the domestic industry too, as it has also been facing tough competition of cheaper imported merchandize in the country following FTAs with several countries, he added.
While appreciating the central bank’s role in sustaining economic growth through supporting trade and industry in past, he said that reduction in interest rate could have proved to be a vital relief to the business community.
The BMP chief said that the authorities would have to reduce production cost of the industries to avail this offer by the international buyers.
He said that the central bank should announce an initiative related to loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as the SME sector has to show collateral to banks, which are always reluctant to offer them concessional credit.
He said it is high time that government should revise interest rate to turn Pakistan into a production economy. He said our future lies in strengthening the production sectors, but that would require the government to make a decision and cut the cost of credit as there is no justification to keep interest rates that high particularly when this policy is unlikely to produce the desired results in the wake of cost-pushed inflation.
Mian Anjum said that tight monetary policy has not produced desired results for the economy in past as the inflation rate on which the current policy is based, is once again surging despite increasing key policy rate.
He said that the tight monetary policy is casting multiple negative effects on the economy as it has kept interest rate very high causing sharp fall in the value of rupee, Squeezing credit for private sector and reducing domestic savings, investment, production and exports.
He said it is right time that SBP should revisit its monetary policy to mitigate its harmful impact on the business and economy. He said that the country is passing through a difficult phase in view of massive rupee devaluation against the dollar which is bound to increase the cost of imported raw materials. Dark clouds are hovering on the stock market and there is a flight of capital from Pakistan. The SBP’s decision to increase the interest rates looks untimely, he added.
He said the central banks of various countries were lowering the interest rate while the SBP was going in the opposite direction.
The SBP has raised the interest rate to reduce pressure on inflation. Pakistan’s economy is import-oriented where exchange rate plays havoc with the commodity and raw material prices, he said.
He opined that the prices of raw materials and finished products were already high and they will further soar in view of the continuous rupee fall against the dollar which would push up the cost of doing business.
Mian Anjum Nisar called for quick and serious measures to revive industrial growth, as the businesses have been facing severe financial crunch amidst, soaring fuel cost, delaying sales tax refunds and rising markup rate. He stressed the need for increasing ease of doing business, lowering cost of production, paying early refunds to the industry to solve liquidity crunch, relaxing import policy for industrial raw material, and equalizing the energy tariff across the country.
BMP Chairman said that Pakistan’s core issue is the high cost of doing business, which the government needed to bring down to bring the industry at par with global competitors.
He warned the authorities that rising inflation can hurt economic growth in Pakistan and a careful policy is required to keep it in control, as the present rigid monetary policy stance of the central bank has failed to contain the hyperinflation in the country.
What’s happening with Google Play Store for Pakistani users?
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan has suspended a payment of $34 million to international service providers after which mobile users will not be able to download Google Play Store services from December 01, 2022, The News reported Saturday.
The direct carrier billing (DCB) mechanism was discontinued by the central bank after which a payment of $34 million on an annual basis through mobile companies to international service providers, including Google, Amazon and Meta, got stuck.
Pakistani customers will now be forced to download Google and other international apps for making payments through credit cards or debit cards only. But the credit card facility is limited to a certain number of customers, so the majority of mobile users may be deprived of downloading apps from Google Play Store.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and four cellular mobile operators (CMOs) unanimously wrote a joint letter to the SBP on Friday, making a request to reverse its decision of revoking the DCB mechanism for payment of dollar fee keeping in view the liquidity crunch being faced by the country.
Top official sources confirmed to The News that Google services such as downloading apps will be unavailable. They conveyed to relevant authorities that the outstanding payment of $34 million was due, so their services for downloading of Google App Store will no more be available if the outstanding amount was not cleared.
The four mobile operators sent a joint letter to the government, stating that the telecom industry is one of the biggest contributors to foreign direct investment along with other significant contributions in the form of tax, duties and other levies.
The role of the telecom sector in expanding the agenda of Digital Pakistan cannot be ignored. Pakistan’s digital transformation is intended to benefit all social and economic sectors and thus needs engagement and facilitation from all stakeholders.
The State Bank of Pakistan revoked the IT designation of telecom operators months back. It was further advised to route cases to SBP on a case-to-case basis for subsequent approval. Consequently, the mobile operators stated that they were facing severe delays in getting approvals, resulting in disruption of critical services as they support the company in managing IT and digital infrastructure to meet all operational requirements internally and servicing its customers billing management, fraud management software, Office 365, robotics automation software and software developers as well as payments related to digital advertising on big IT platforms.
The digital economy in Pakistan has a heavy reliance on international service providers for hosting on cloud platforms, licenses required for services/platforms, security features and in many cases technical expertise to upskill the local workforce to meet international standards.
All the major players like Google, Amazon and Meta, are being impacted because of non-payment and are most likely to discontinue their services the impact of which will be reflected in terms of telecom and internet users being unable to fulfil their needs from digital platforms including digital banking, e-Commerce, e-Education, e-Health that uses cloud infrastructure and gets licenses for both applications as well as web-based platforms that are being badly impacted.
Distribution and monetisation of digital platforms will become extremely challenging considering the lack of distribution support and interest from the market leaders like Google, Amazon, and Apple representing Facebook. Digital marketing is the most effective channel for all brands, products and services will shrink drastically or become unavailable, thus, impacting brands, services and products beyond the digital space.
“Any potential outage of such digital services due to non-payments would create a lot of negativity in the world about Pakistan in this age of social media and should be avoided at any cost,” stated the letter.
The letter concluded: “It is pertinent to mention here that we all understand the prevailing challenge of worsening economic conditions of the country and thus are open to working in an amicable way with the Regulator (SBP); as we are already working with them in case of the telecom sector imports related transactions to navigate through these testing times.”
Pakistan sees alarming rise in HIV cases
- Newly infected people include low risk males, females, clients of key populations.
- Punjab tops in new HIV cases with 6,106 people infected.
- Doctor says healthcare system biggest culprit in spreading HIV in Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: As many as 9,773 people have tested positive for HIV in Pakistan during the last 10 months of 2022, raising serious doubts about HIV prevention and control efforts and clearly indicating spread of HIV from the key populations to the general public, health authorities in the federal capital said, citing official data.
“Every month, more or less 1,000 new HIV cases are being reported from all four provinces, capital Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. This clearly indicates that HIV is now spreading to general population from the key populations including people who inject drugs, male, female and transgender sex workers,” an official of the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSR&C) told.
Pakistan has spent hundreds of millions of dollars from the Global Fund and other international donor agencies during the last 11 years to contain and prevent the spread of HIV but new infections are constantly on the rise. According to UNAIDS, a significant percentage of low risk males, females, and clients of key populations are the newly infected ones suggesting an increase in HIV transmission to bridging populations (spouses, partners, and clients) of key populations.
Official data available with The News indicate that Punjab tops in new HIV cases where 6,106 people have been tested positive from January to October 2022, followed by Sindh where 2,097 people have been tested positive for HIV in the last 10 months, while 815 new HIV cases have been reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the current year till October 31, 2022.
Similarly, 316 new HIV cases have been reported from Balochistan while 496 new HIV cases have been reported from Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) from January to October 2022, the official data indicates.
In Punjab, which is the most affected province with respect to HIV in Pakistan, 400 people were tested positive in January, 475 in February, 572 in March, 547 in April, 610 in May, 723 in June, 669 in July, 701 in August, 712 in September and 697 in the month of October 2022, the official data shows.
With 2,097 new cases 10 months of current year, Sindh was second with new HIV cases where 164 cases were reported in January, 148 in February, 182 in March, 201 in April, 183 in May, 211 in June, 181 in July, 169 in August, 236 in September and 140 new cases were reported in October 2022, the official data indicates.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had 815 new HIV cases in the first 10 months of the current year with 71 new cases reported in January, 96 in February, 71 in March, 61 in April, 68 in May, 85 in June, 84 in July, 87 in August, 101 in September and 91 in October 2022.
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) reported 496 new HIV cases in first 10 months of the current year with 36 cases in January, 57 in February, 38 in March, 33 in April, 43 in May, 72 in June, 51 in July, 59 in August, 60 in September and 47 in October 2022, the official data indicated.
Balochistan had the lowest number of new HIV cases in the first 10 months of the current year where 259 HIV cases were reported with 32 cases in January, 18 in February, 27 in March, 31 in April, 21 in May, 40 in June, 19 in July, 27 in August, 29 in September and 15 in the month of October 20022, the official data indicates.
Commenting on the spread of HIV in Pakistan, renowned infectious diseases specialist and expert on HIV Dr Faisal Mehmood said one of the reasons behind more HIV cases as compared to past is that millions of tests are being done in the country and added that Men-having-Sex-with Men or MSM and the poor Infection Prevention and Control were the major reasons for the spread of HIV in Pakistan.
“MSM is the one of the biggest key populations in which HIV is spreading fast in Pakistan because Pakistani MSM have very different characteristics as compared to rest of the world. Secondly, poor infection prevention and control is the major reason behind increasing cases of HIV in the country,” he added.
Dr Mehmood, who is associated with Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi said healthcare system was also the biggest culprit in spreading HIV in Pakistan and warned that if not controlled, HIV cases would be in millions very soon like Hepatitis C which spreads with the same means as HIV.
Hina Rabbani expected to represent Pakistan in FIFA World Cup in Doha
- Hina Rabbani likely to attend world cup in first week of December.
- Sources say dates are still being finalised.
- They add it was important for Pakistan to show solidarity with Qatar.
ISLAMABAD: Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar is likely to visit Doha to attend the FIFA World Cup in the first week of December, The News reported Saturday, citing diplomatic sources in Doha.
Invitations had been received by the Foreign Office even before the World Cup started with the inaugural being attended by world leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman whose home team scored an unbelievable and unforgettable win against the champions Argentina.
The sources said that dates are still being finalised. Moreover, Ambassador of Qatar in Islamabad Saoud Abdulrahman Al-Thani called on Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday to extend an invitation from his Qatari counterpart to watch the World Cup.
Sources said it was important for Pakistan to show solidarity with a fellow Muslim state which was the first to hold the world cup and which was being attacked by some world capitals, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and even the media over alleged human rights records.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was the first here who in a tweet supported Qatar. “Unfortunate that Qatar is being subjected to a barrage of propaganda as host of FIFA World Cup. It should be rather commended for wonderful arrangements for the mega event and being a promoter of global peace and development. Pakistan stands in solidarity with HH Emir and the people of Qatar,” he wrote.
In Islamabad, it was the German Ambassador Alfred Grannas, who in a short tweet displayed the Sialkot-made football exported in hundreds of thousands rupees to the World Cup. “Every goal is a Pakistani goal,” he tweeted.
Lt. Gen Faiz Hamid decides early retirement
- Lt Gen Faiz Hamid is one of military’s top officials.
- News comes a day after Lt Gen Abbas’ decision of early retirement.
- Lt Gen Hamid served as director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence wile Imran Khan was PM.
RAWALPINDI, NOV 26: Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid, who is one of the top military officers of Pakistan, has decided on early retirement.
News of Lt General Hamid’s retirement comes a day after family sources said that Pakistan Army’s Chief of General Staff (CGS) Lt General Azhar Abbas had sought early retirement as well.
The two army men were listed among the six army officers nominated by the General Headquarters for the army chief’s post.
CGS Lt Gen Azhar Abbas decided to bid farewell, seeking early retirement, his brother confirmed on Friday.
“I confirm that Lt Gen Azhar Abbas has sought earlier retirement to maintain his grace, honour and dignity as a decorated officer of Pakistan Army,” he said.
“Known for his professionalism, farsightedness and leadership, Lt Gen Azhar Abbas has decided to bid farewell, seeking early retirement — true to his personality,” a trusted family source said.
It may be noted that Lt Gen Hamid was the director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan while Imran Khan was prime minister.
The development comes two days after the federal government appointed General Asim Munir as the next chief of army staff and Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC).
Ethiopian Prime Minister to attend ICCI BOC in Addis Ababa – Jemal Beker Abdula
Islamabad, NOV 26 /DNA/ – Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador of Ethiopia welcomed the ICCI proposal to organize a Business Opportunities Conference (BOC) in Ethiopia and said that the Prime Minister of Ethiopia would join the event as Chief Guest while he would provide full support to make it successful.
He said that his country is a gateway for African countries and Pakistan can enhance its exports with the African region by developing closer cooperation with Ethiopia.
He said that Ethiopia has made reforms for ease of doing business and is now a manufacturing hub in Africa, therefore, Pakistani investors should set up manufacturing units in Ethiopia to export their products to the African region. He said that Ethiopian Airline is going to launch direct flights between Ethiopia and Pakistan, which will help Pakistani entrepreneurs to explore Africa for business and investment.
He said that Pakistan and Ethiopia have the potential to increase bilateral trade up to US$ 300 million. He said this while addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
The Envoy said that many products of Ethiopia including tea, coffee, meat, metals can enter Pakistani markets. Similarly, Pakistan can export rice, chemicals, food products, sports goods, surgical instruments, medicines, IT products, technology etc. to Ethiopia. He said that both countries can cooperate in intercontinental trade, energy and tourism sectors.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that said that the annual imports of Ethiopia are over US$ 18 billion and annual exports around US$ 8 billion, however, the current volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Ethiopia is just around 21 million, which is not matching with their actual potential. He said that Pakistan and Ethiopia should encourage regular exchange of trade delegations to explore new areas of trade promotion. He said it is encouraging that Ethiopia intends to start direct flights with Pakistan, which will improve people-to-people and trade ties between the two countries.
Ahsan Bakhtawari said that Pakistan is producing good quality surgical and pharmaceutical products and Ethiopia is importing most of these products. He stressed that Ethiopia should lower the registration cost of foreign pharmaceutical products to enhance exports of these products from Pakistan to its market. He said that Pakistan can also export cement to Ethiopia and to other African countries.
Zafar Bakhtawari, Sheikh Abdul Waheed, Khalid Chaudhry, Raja Imtiaz, Muhammad Saeed Khan and others were also present in the meeting.
Pakistan, Türkiye to further strengthen trade and investment ties
ISTANBUL, NOV 26 /DNA/ – The deep-rooted brotherly relations between Pakistan and Türkiye will be further consolidated through strengthening trade and investment ties. This was expressed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while addressing Turkish business leaders in a meeting organized by Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEIK) in Istanbul, today.
Underlining the important role played by businessmen to create economic linkages between the two countries, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated important contribution of DEIK in developing commercial ties between Pakistan and Türkiye.
Prime Minister voiced his government’s strong commitment to provide opportunities to businessmen from both sides to further develop mutually beneficial linkages.
The Prime Minister also expressed confidence that the recently-signed Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA) will become a basis for achieving higher trade volumes commensurate with the true potential existing between the two sides.
The meeting was attended by Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Commerce, Ms. Maryam Aurangzeb, Minister for Information, Syed Tariq Fatemi, Syed Fahad Hussain, Special Assistants to the Prime Minister. From the Turkish side, Mr. Mehmet Muş, Turkish Trade Minister and Mr. Nail Olpak President of DEIK, along with leading business delegations from Türkiye participated in the meeting.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also held one-on-one meetings with leading business leaders of Türkiye. He appreciated contribution of business enterprises operating in Pakistan to the development and growth of Pakistan’s economy and urged the businesses to invest in Pakistan, particularly in the evolving energy sector, such as renewables, and assured complete support of Pakistan’s government.
The Prime Minister also highlighted opportunities in other key sectors of Pakistan’s economy, including food processing, hospitality, construction, IT services and e-commerce. The participants appreciated Prime Minister’s sentiments and assured to continue their contribution to deepening bilateral trade and economic relations.
PM Shehbaz, President of Türkiye participate in launching of MILGEM Class Corvette for PN
ANKARA, NOV 25: Launching ceremony of the third of the fourth MILGEM class corvette, PNS Khaibar, for Pakistan Navy was held today at Istanbul Naval Shipyard. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan graced the occasion as chief guests.
The PNS Khaibar was launched with a prayer by both leaders for its safe functioning. Both leaders also jointly performed keel laying and steel cutting of the offshore patrol vessels for Turkish Navy.
Addressing the ceremony, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the exceptional nature of Pakistan-Türkiye relations and the historic tradition of supporting each other during times of trial and tribulation.
Tracing the glorious history of deep rooted bilateral fraternal ties, the Prime Minister said that the defence collaboration between Pakistan and Türkiye for the construction of MILGEM class warships was aimed at promoting peace and warding off aggression. He called for further strengthening of joint defence production capabilities. The Prime Minister added that the Pakistan-Türkiye strategic partnership was a source of stability for the entire region.
The Prime Minister greatly appreciated President Erdoğan’s personally supervising the assistance effort from Türkiye to Pakistan in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Pakistan.
In his address, President Erdoğan noted that the two countries shared a strategic relationship as they mark the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. He highlighted that the Turkish people had not forgotten the assistance from the Muslims of the subcontinent during its national struggle. President Erdoğan termed defence cooperation an important pillar of the bilateral relationship and congratulated everyone involved in the successful execution of the MILGEM project.
Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, and Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank also attended the event. From Pakistan side, Minister of Defence Production Muhammad Israr Tareen, Minister of Commerce Naveed Qamar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Maryum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Fahd Hussain, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, and Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi attended the ceremony.
Earlier, upon his arrival at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, the Prime Minister was received by Turkish President Erdoğan and presented a guard of honour.
The contract for four MILGEM Class Corvettes for Pakistan Navy was signed in 2018. Under the contract, two ships were to be constructed at Istanbul Naval Shipyard and the other two at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. Induction of MILGEM warships in Pakistan Navy fleet will augment its capability and contribute in its efforts towards maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President of Türkiye participate in the launching of the MILGEM Class Corvette for Pakistan Navy, 25th November 2022
Launching ceremony of the third of the fourth MILGEM class corvette, PNS Khaibar, for Pakistan Navy was held today at Istanbul Naval Shipyard. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan graced the occasion as chief guests.
The PNS Khaibar was launched with a prayer by both leaders for its safe functioning. Both leaders also jointly performed keel laying and steel cutting of the offshore patrol vessels for Turkish Navy.
Addressing the ceremony, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the exceptional nature of Pakistan-Türkiye relations and the historic tradition of supporting each other during times of trial and tribulation.
Tracing the glorious history of deep rooted bilateral fraternal ties, the Prime Minister said that the defence collaboration between Pakistan and Türkiye for the construction of MILGEM class warships was aimed at promoting peace and warding off aggression. He called for further strengthening of joint defence production capabilities. The Prime Minister added that the Pakistan-Türkiye strategic partnership was a source of stability for the entire region.
The Prime Minister greatly appreciated President Erdoğan’s personally supervising the assistance effort from Türkiye to Pakistan in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Pakistan.
In his address, President Erdoğan noted that the two countries shared a strategic relationship as they mark the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. He highlighted that the Turkish people had not forgotten the assistance from the Muslims of the subcontinent during its national struggle. President Erdoğan termed defence cooperation an important pillar of the bilateral relationship and congratulated everyone involved in the successful execution of the MILGEM project.
Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, and Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank also attended the event. From Pakistan side, Minister of Defence Production Muhammad Israr Tareen, Minister of Commerce Naveed Qamar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Maryum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Fahd Hussain, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, and Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi attended the ceremony.
Earlier, upon his arrival at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, the Prime Minister was received by Turkish President Erdoğan and presented a guard of honour.
The contract for four MILGEM Class Corvettes for Pakistan Navy was signed in 2018. Under the contract, two ships were to be constructed at Istanbul Naval Shipyard and the other two at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. Induction of MILGEM warships in Pakistan Navy fleet will augment its capability and contribute in its efforts towards maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region.
Pak-Afghan businessmen lay stress on effective liaison for smooth operation, speedy vehicle clearance
Shamim Shahif
PESHAWAR: Businessmen from Pakistan and Afghanistan have laid stress on keeping effective liaison and coordination for smooth operation of bilateral and transit trade besides increase in crossover of vehicles on both sides of the border.
These views were expressed during 16th meeting of border committee held at Custom Station Torkham under the chairmanship of Muhammad Rizwan, Additional Collector Collectorate of Customs (Appraisement).
Pakistan’s businessmen delegation was led by Director Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi while representatives from different departments including NLC, FC and State Bank of Pakistan were also present.
The Afghan delegation comprised of Allauddin, Ismail Khan Shinwari (Transport Attache Afghan Consulate) and others.
The participants of the meeting while discussing pendency issue apprised that the number of stranded documents have reached to 50,000 due to some technical issues and continuous dis-connectivity of VPN and WeBOC.
Moreover, the pendency of previous ISAF related consignments are also slowing down the system, the meeting further informed.
The participants of the meeting were assured regarding coordination with Transit staff about clearing of pendency of T-1 documents.
Pakistan businessmen demanded permission for re-issuance of Ilam-o-Khabar (Afghan document) from Afghan consulate in Peshawar for facilitation of traders.
During the meeting, the Afghan delegation was informed to communicate to their senior management reservation of Pakistan businessmen over higher valuation of coal in Afghanistan as compared to international markets.
The Afghan side requested for facilitating movement of individuals accompanying dead bodies. They were informed that bonafide individuals are being facilitated in this regard.
Representative of chambers appreciated the efforts of Custom authorities regarding clearance of stuck up vehicles which are now being cleared and have saved traders from heavy demurrage.
The Afghan authorities were also requested to look into the matter of issues related to registration of medicine in Afghanistan being exported from Pakistan.
