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Pakistan’s fruits & vegetable export to China over $54 million 

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 18 (DNA): Pakistan’s fruits & vegetable export to China topped $54.34 million, witnessing a massive increase in the month of January-September year-on-year, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Friday quoting data from General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC).

According to GACC, imports of dried leguminous vegetables (commodity code 07139090), amounted to $6.17 million, with imports totaling more than 4,040 tons in the January-September period, compared with $3.97 million in the same period last year.

Ahmed Raza, a Pakistani fruits & vegetable exporter, told China Economic Net that in wake of the high demand for fruits and vegetables in the Chinese market, Pakistani traders have an imperial opportunity to increase their exports and grow as a food basket for China.

“Chinese people like Pakistani fruits & vegetables because of their good taste and high quality. If we enhance the techniques used by China to offer high-end products, the export value will increase,” he added.

He further said that the flood badly affected many sectors of Pakistan including agriculture. Many crops including rice, sugarcane, fruits & vegetables vanished by the flood but these crops should be replanted as soon as possible to cover the losses and increase experts, he said.

“Due to climate changes, when our farmers harvest fresh fruits and vegetables, they encounter difficulties in storage, transportation, and preservation. 

Pakistani farmers are very helpless watching the fresh fruits and vegetables gradually deteriorate with the passage of time. 

To solve this problem China and Pakistan should further enhance cooperation in the fields of vegetable & fruit planting, storage, processing and make it high-end products,” he mentioned.

It is to be noted that despite the pandemic of COVID-19 and the flood in Pakistan, bilateral trade between Pakistan and China has increased significantly. 

Pakistan’s exports stood at $ 2.57 billion in the first nine months (January- September) of FY22, up 2 percent from $ 2.51 billion in the same period of the previous year, which grew for three consecutive years.

Korea keen to enhance relations with Pakistan

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Korean embassy organizes seminar on solar power in Pakistan

DNA

ISLAMABAD: The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Islamabad organized an interactive seminar on the theme of Energy Infrastructure Enhancement in Pakistan through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). The seminar was attended by senior level representatives from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs Division, EXIM Bank of Korea, Korean Companies, Pakistani Business Community Members, and the UN.

The seminar’s propose was to discuss ways to promote renewable energy especially solar power in Pakistan in a collaborative and synergetic manner where Korean companies showcased their experiences of undertaking renewable energy projects in Korea, Pakistan, and around the world, and to highlight the receptiveness of the Pakistani Government towards utilizing the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), worth USD 1 billion for the years 2022 to 2026, which was signed in June 2022 between the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) of Pakistan and the Korean Embassy towards enhancing Pakistan’s renewable energy output and making the country more climate resilient.

The Ambassador while speaking at the seminar said that Korea and Pakistan have always enjoyed cordial ties and Korea aims to further enhance these bilateral relations between the two countries to new heights through renewable energy projects. Country Director of KOICA, and CEOs of Korean Companies also expressed their complete willingness to assist Pakistan in this process.

Palestine embassy hoists flag at half mast

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DNA

ISLAMABAD: The Embassy of the State of Palestine, Islamabad Pakistan hoisted the flag at half mast according to the declaration of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, today, Friday, November 18, 2022, a national day of mourning in which flags are flown at all Palestinian official institutions, mourning the lives of the victims of the unfortunate fire incident in a house in Jabalia, Palestinian Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip, which resulted in the death of an entire family consisting of 21 people.

The unfortunate accident was the result of a fire in the family’s stock of fuel to operate the electricity generator, which has become a necessity for every home in the Gaza Strip to overcome the crisis of power outages of about 16 hours per day as a result of the unjust Israeli blockade imposed on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip for the long period of time which is more than 17 years, which prevents the availability of fuel supplies on a regular basis, the power plant and the entry of materials necessary for the maintenance of electricity transmission and distribution networks.

These humanitarian issues and much of the daily suffering of the Palestinian people cry out to the international community to stand up to its moral and legal responsibilities by taking all legal and political measures to end the Israeli occupation of the lands of the State of Palestine and to stop the racist occupation practices that deprive the Palestinian people of their most basic human needs to live in dignity on the land of their homeland inherited for thousands years.

PAF pavilion remained iconic at IDEAS-2022

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KARACHI, Nov 18 (DNA): The 11th Edition of the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar, IDEAS 2022, concluded on Friday at Karachi Expo Center.

On the 4th and final day of the exhibition, the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) being the most appreciated project of the show, continue to gather admiration from the visitors, said a news release on Friday.

The broad spectrum of the project and its national significance has made it the most successful project at the exhibition. The NASTP project as per CAS vision and his own initiative has materialized in record time.

PAF pavilion with the static display of state of the art JF-17 Thunder and Super Muhshak Trainer Aircraft remained iconic in the mega event with keen interest shown in the indigenously developed aircraft by the visiting delegates and senior military officials of different countries.

Earlier, on the 3rd day of the event, PAF’s legendary Mirage aircraft presented a breath-taking flypast at Karachi Sea view. The event also included a paratrooping show of PAF’s Air Borne team jumping from the mighty C-130 Hercules. The Flypast was witnessed by several key officials and delegates from friendly countries. The excited crowd gathered at the venue were over joyed to see the power packed performance of the PAF aircrew.

Both NASTP and the JF-17 Thunder aircraft together will serve as the leading defence productions to attract foreign delegates for joint ventures. NASTP is all set to become one of the best Aerospace, Cyber and IT Clusters in the world and transform national landscape with design, R&D and innovation centers for emerging and disruptive technologies to foster research, innovation and development in aviation, space, IT and cyber technologies, products and services to accrue maximum social, economic, security and scientific dividends for the country.

The mega event on one hand provided an opportunity to Pakistan Air Force to showcase its aircraft and indeginous productions infront of the audience from around the globe while on the other will pave the way for future defence collaborations with friendly countries.

Korean govt donates USD 1.5 million for Afghan refugees

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Korean govt donates USD 1.5 million for Afghan refugees

Mahnoor Ansar

ISLAMABAD” The Government of the Republic of Korea in its commitment to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan Refugees in Pakistan donated $1.5 million USD for the year 2023 to three United Nations Agencies on 17th November, 2022.

          A ceremony was held in this regards at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Islamabad, where the Korean Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Suh Sangpyo signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Dr. Luay Shabaneh, the Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Palitha Mahipala, and the Deputy Representative of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Ms. Rathi Palakrishnan. Each of the United Nations Agencies received half a million USD aimed at providing lifesaving food assistance, continued healthcare to Afghan Refugees along with assisting specific Mother and Child, and Gender Based Violence (GBV) projects.

          Speaking at the ceremony, the representatives of the UN agencies expressed their gratitude to the Ambassador, Government of Korea and the Korean people for their steadfast support and humanitarian assistance to the plight of the Afghan Refugees.

Time to welcome Romania, Bulgaria in Schengen

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Time to welcome

Romania, Bulgaria

in Schengen system

DNA

BRUSSELS: EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson has said it was time to welcome Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia in the Schengen system. She said, Schengen is the largest area of free movement in the world. 3,5 million people crossing borders every day – for work, studies, pleasure. One third of the EU population lives in border regions. Every year there are 24 million business trips, and travellers make 1.25 billion journeys in the area yearly.

420 millions across the continent are connected in the area of free movement.Schengen is one of the biggest achievements of the EU. Those connections grow the internal market, they grow economies. Schengen grows people’s standard of living – pure and simple.

22 MS and 4 associated countries are in Schengen. Now it is time to include three more. So today I present a Communication on a stronger Schengen with full participation of Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia.

It is high time to say welcome!
It is high time to say

Schengen is Europe.
These three Member States deserve to feel fully European. To have the privilege of being a member you are bound by the Concil acquis. Which includes conditions,, Uniform Schengen visas, Cooperation with law enforcement in other countries, Connection to information systems, such as Schengen Information System

All this in order to maintain security within the area and in line with fundamental rights. Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia had strongly proven that they have met all these conditions.

They have the tools, structures, and procedures in place to manage external borders, including possible security threats.
They have highly trained and dedicated staff, state of the art infrastructure and knowhow.

Bulgaria and Romania invited a fact-finding mission last month with 17 experts from MS together with experts from the Commission, and from our agencies Frontex, Europol and Fundamental Rights Agency. They assessed the developments of the legal framework, governance, and tools to manage effectively the Schengen area.  

This was an answer to some remaining questions from some Member States. This mission, not only reported very positively, but also reaffirmed the two countries readiness to join Schengen. They have reinforced the application of the acquis.

For Croatia I would like to emphasize that, already last year, it was the first Member State to set up an Independent Monitoring Mechanism to guarantee the protection of fundamental rights at external borders.

Only two weeks ago the Croatian Government signed an agreement to renew and reinforce this mechanism.

The wait has been long, I should say too long. Expectations are high, rightly so – from authorities and at least from citizens.
The European Parliament has adopted several resolutions to support enlargement. Overwhelmingly voting to support.

Now, the Czech Presidency plan to have it on the agenda on the Home Affairs Council on 8 December. This will be a truly European decision. Schengen has survived the turbulence of recent years.These challenges have been surmounted because of a shared European spirit.
And this spirit must continue – in our modern world.

Because today Schengen is something very different from when it was created. We will soon introduce interconnected large scale IT systems, VISA information System, Schengen information system, we have Europol, we have Frontex.

And this is needed: we must have smart, strong, and interconnected control at our external borders. And intensive cooperation between law enforcement agencies and authorities. Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia are ready join, and I should say the European Union is ready to welcome.

I expect MS to take this important, historical, positive decision. A moment of great pride, for the citizens of these countries.  And most importantly a decision in all our interests, she added.

SC dismisses petition against PTI’s long march

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            ISLAMABAD, ):The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition against former prime minister and chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s long march towards Islamabad.

A three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ayesha A Malik and Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition of former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Kamran Murtaza against PTI’s long march.

During the course of proceedings, Kamran Murtaza argued that according to Fawad Chaudhry, the long march would reach Islamabad on Friday or Saturday and this could affect normal life in the federal capital. Long march was the right of PTI but the rights of common man should not be affected, he added.

Justice Ayesha Malik inquired whether the government had made any mechanism to regulate the protests.

Justice Athar Minallah remarked that it was a matter for the executive and advised the petitioner to approach them. He said that the judiciary could intervene only in exceptional circumstances.

He asked why should the court interfere when the administration could control the situation?

Senator Kamran Murtaza said that the matter had gone too far as one person was killed in PTI’s long march.

Justice Ayesha Malik inquired that PTI’s long march has been going on for a long time, had he approached the administration?

She asked what was haste in the case of long march and what was the negligence of the administration?

Senator Kamran Murtaza said that an entire province had been paralyzed due to the long march.

Justice Athar Minallah said that if someone violated the laws, the executive had wide powers.

He asked would not the administration and parliament be weakened by the intervention of the judiciary?

Justice Ayesha Malik asked the petitioner to mobilize the administration to play its role. Every day there were protests in many places including Parliament in Islamabad, she said and asked had he ever approached the courts against other protests?

She asked why the intervention of the court was required only in the long march of a particular political party.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that the petitioner had mentioned past violations in the application. The Long March was a political issue that could be solved politically, he added.

He said that interference in such issues created a strange situation for the court.

Addressing the petitioner, the Chief Justice said that he (Kamran) had mentioned an audio in his application which mentioned bringing weapons. Audio was true or false but it could disturb the law and order situation, he added.

He asked did the people in the long march of May 25 had weapons? The right to protest was not unlimited but subject to constitutional limits, he added.

The Chief Justice said that the request for H-9 ground was given for PTI’s May 25 long march. When the administration refused to give H-9 ground, the Supreme Court intervened, he added.

He observed that despite the allocation of the H-9 ground, the crowd went to D-Chowk.

Addressing the petitioner, the Chief Justice said that he wanted the Supreme Court to play the role of Deputy Commissioner. Apparently, the court’s intervention in the case of Long March would be premature, he added.

Senator Kamran Murtaza said that it seemed that the administration could not control the situation. Justice Athar Minallah while talking to Kamran Murtaza said that he was a senator and he should strengthen the parliament but he had approached the court on the basis of assumption.

Kamran Murtaza said that he had approached the court in a personal capacity, on this Justice Athar Minallah said that how could he believe that he was also a part of the government and had come in a personal capacity.

The court asked Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman whether the administration had taken any decision regarding the venue for PTI’s long march.

The Additional Attorney General said that a request has been received from PTI and pleaded the court to grant half an hour time as he would inform the court after receiving information from the relevant forum. He said that a similar case was also pending in the Islamabad High Court.

The Additional Attorney General informed the court that the administration had asked the PTI to hold a rally in Rawat. The administration sought an affidavit from the PTI, which had not yet been filed, he added.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that if there was a clear threat of constitutional violation, the judiciary would intervene. The other party could have its own position on the violations, he added.

He said that the matter became complicated for the court on violation of Supreme Court orders as court orders were for implementation.

When the hearing resumed after a break, Justice Athar Minallah said that petition had become ineffective.

Kamran Murtaza said that he wanted judicial intervention to maintain law and order in the country.

Justice Athar Minallah inquired if he was saying that the situation had gone beyond the control of the administration.

Justice Ayesha Malik asked whether the federal government did not know how to fulfill its responsibility. She questioned what could the Supreme Court do in administrative matters?

Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the state was powerful and empowered. The bench could understand that he was worried about the current situation. The government could stop the protest anywhere and every citizen was affected by such a situation, he added.

He said that today’s headline was about the attack in Bajaur and Lakki Marwat which affected the entire nation.

The Advocate General said that the Federation had also written a letter to Punjab under Article 149 on November 5. The administration had asked PTI about the date, time and place, which was not answered, he added.

He alleged that PTI talked about bloodshed before the Wazirabad incident and after the Wazirabad incident, the administration refused to allow PTI to enter Islamabad. The case on the permission of the rally in Islamabad was pending in the Islamabad High Court, he added.

Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the court wanted peace in the country, not chaos. The court did not want to give an order that was premature, he added.

He said that the letter of the Federation to the provinces under Article 149 was a very serious matter.

The bench remarked that there was no reason for the court to issue the order after the arguments of Advocate General Islamabad.Later, the court dismissed Senator Kamran Murtaza’s petition to stop the PTI

Pakistan’s annual growth can fall 18-20% by 2050: WB

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Pakistan’s annual GDP can

fall 18-20% by 2050: WB

                ISLAMABAD, Nov 17 (dna):Pakistan’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is at risk of falling by 18 to 20 percent by 2050 due to the combined risks from the intensification of climate change and environmental degradation in the country if the climate change issues are left unaddressed.

“The combined risks from the intensification of climate change and environmental degradation, unless addressed, will further aggravate Pakistan’s economic fragility; and could ultimately reduce annual GDP by 18 to 20 percent per year by 2050, based on the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios”, a report recently published by the World Bank said.

Between 6.5 and 9.0 percent of GDP will likely be lost due to climate change (in the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios, respectively) as increased floods and heatwaves reduce agriculture and livestock yields, destroy infrastructure, sap labour productivity, and undermine health, the report further said.

Additionally, water shortages in agriculture could reduce GDP by more than 4.6 percent, and air pollution could impose a loss of 6.5 percent of GDP per year.

The use of water for non-agricultural purposes is likely to increase significantly with climate change. Under a high-growth (4.9 percent per year) and high-warming (3°C by 2047) scenario, water demand is projected to increase by almost 60 percent, with the highest rates of the increase coming from the domestic and industrial sectors, the report said.

It added that climate warming will account for up to 15 percent of this increase in demand. This heightened demand will result in unintended consequences that deprive downstream areas of water rights. The competition among sectors will necessitate inter-sectoral tradeoffs that will likely be made at the expense of water for agriculture.

It is projected that in the next three decades, about 10 percent of all irrigation water will need to be repurposed to meet non-agricultural demand. Freeing up 10 percent of irrigation water without compromising food security will be a complex challenge that will require substantial policy reforms to incentivize water conservation and increase water use efficiency in the agricultural sector and a shift away from water-thirsty crops as well as better environmental management.

The projected costs of a forced reallocation of water out of agriculture, to meet non-agriculture demands, without such steps, could reduce GDP in 2047 by 4.6 percent. The losses projected here are thus the costs of forced reallocation of water to serve other urgent needs, including allocations for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and urgent environmental flows to sustain critical ecosystem services.

Damage induced by climate-related extreme events will likely have economy-wide impacts on growth, fiscal space, employment, and poverty. Global warming and extreme events affect economic activity through multiple transmission channels: impacts on lives, on infrastructure and assets, and on livelihoods, which can result in lost economic growth, worsening poverty and longer-term threats to human capital and productivity. Existing macro models can help assess the expected scale of such events.

The report added that household poverty is expected to decline over time, but even a 9 percent decline in GDP by 2050 is enough to stall poverty reduction, with disproportionate impacts on rural households. By 2030, the urban poverty rate is expected to be half that of rural areas. By 2050, urban poverty is projected to decline further, to 10 percent, while rural poverty remains in the 25–28 percent ra

Pakistan slams Indian media’s ‘disingenuous’ reporting on DG IAEA’s comments

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ISLAMABAD, NOV 16: Pakistan Wednesday deemed Indian media’s report a “disingenuous attempt” for misreporting Director General International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi’s response to a query about the firing of India’s missile being fired into Pakistan on March 9 this year.

The Indian media reported that the BrahMos nuclear capable missile fired into Pakistan’s territory from India was not a cause for any specific concern for the international nuclear watchdog.

The Foreign Office, in its statement, said that the report is a disingenuous attempt by the Indian state-sponsored media to absolve their country of its “irresponsible nuclear behaviour” by directing the question DG IAEA.

“The available transcripts show that DG IAEA responded in negative when asked whether the IAEA had sought information from the Indian government on the incident. It should have been qualified by stating that IAEA has no mandate on such matters,” the statement read.

Pakistan stated that the DG’s response cannot be “purposely misinterpreted” to “trivialise” the incident of a nuclear-capable BrahMos missile fire with grave implications for regional and global security.

It added that the incident has raised several questions about India’s conduct as a nuclear state including, whether it was actually an accident.

“India also needs to answer questions about the underlying intentions, technical features and reliability of the missile system, safety, security and nuclear command and control protocols, and the presence of rogue elements in the Indian military,” the Foreign Office said in its statement.

Pakistan also demanded India to explain several repeated incidents of nuclear and radioactive material theft and illicit trafficking, which are more relevant to the IAEA mandate.

“It was expected to report these nuclear security related incidents under the IAEA Incidents and Trafficking Database,” the statement read.

Pakistan said that the critical questions, which remain unanswered, should continue to be of concern to the international community.

India misreporting DG IAEA

Indian media outlet, The Indian Express, had claimed that the IAEA did not see the misfire of the missile as a cause of specific concern and that the matter did not raise questions on safety of nuclear material and weapon in India.

“Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of International Atomic Energy Agency, told The Indian Express in an interview at COP27 climate change meet that the incident was not viewed as a risk and there had been no consultation with the Indian government on this issue,” The Indian Express wrote in its news story on November 14.

According to the publication, Grossi said “no, we didn’t” when asked if the IAEA sought information about the incident from the Indian government.

It added that the DG responded in negative to a question about doubts being raised on the safety of India’s nuclear assets.

FM reassures Pakistan’s firm support to Turkiye in fight against terrorism

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ISLAMABAD, NOV 16 (DNA) — Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday reassured Pakistan’s firm support to Turkiye in its fight against terrorism.

The foreign minister spoke with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to express condolences on Istanbul terrorist attack, Foreign Office Spokesperson posted on his Twitter handle.

On Sunday last, at least six people were killed and 81 others wounded in an explosion, in a busy shopping street of Taksim Square area of central Istanbul. =DNA

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