Pakistan’s exports to Europe surge to $3.8 billion in first five months of current fiscal year

Pakistan’s exports to Europe surge to $3.8 billion in first five months of current fiscal year
Shipping containers are seen stacked on a ship at a sea port in Karachi on April 6, 2023. (AFP/ file)
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Updated 20 January 2025
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Pakistan’s exports to Europe surge to $3.8 billion in first five months of current fiscal year

Pakistan’s exports to Europe surge to $3.8 billion in first five months of current fiscal year
  • Growth in exports driven by textile, leather, garments, sports goods and surgical instruments sectors, says state media 
  • European Union (EU) is Pakistan’s second most important trading partner, accounting for over 14 percent of Pakistan’s total trade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to Europe have surged to $3.8 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year, state-run media reported on Monday, marking an increase of 8.62 percent compared to the same period last year. 

The European Union (EU) is Pakistan’s second most important trading partner, accounting for over 14 percent of Pakistan’s total trade and absorbing 28 percent of Pakistan’s total exports. Pakistani exports to the EU are dominated mostly by textiles and clothing.

Pakistan avails the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP)+ status, a special trade arrangement offered by the EU to developing economies in return for their commitment to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection and governance.

The current GSP framework came to an end in December 2023 but Members of EU Parliament (MEPs) voted in October to extend the current rules on the scheme for another four years for developing countries, including Pakistan. 

“Pakistan’s exports to Europe surged to 3.8 billion dollars, reflecting an 8.62 percent increase in the first five months of current fiscal year,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

It said the growth in exports was driven by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a Pakistani hybrid civil-military body, in the sectors of textiles, leather, garments, sports goods and surgical instruments.

Pakistan’s government formed the SIFC in June 2023 to promote business opportunities in various sectors such as agriculture, mining, information technology and defense, and attract foreign investment. 

The SIFC has targeted mainly Gulf countries in its attempt to revitalize Pakistan’s economy and ensure it heads toward sustainable growth in the years to come. The council was set up in 2023 as Pakistan faced tough economic challenges amid dwindling forex reserves and a rapidly depreciating national currency.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly stressed the importance of shifting Pakistan’s economy from an import-dependent one toward an export-led one, saying that without it sustainable economic growth is difficult to achieve. 

In recent months, Pakistan has vigorously pursued economic and investment deals with Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and bilateral trade cooperation with Central Asian states, Russia and others. 


Pakistan, Iran chambers of commerce sign agreement aimed at increasing exports to $10 billion

Pakistan, Iran chambers of commerce sign agreement aimed at increasing exports to $10 billion
Updated 55 min 1 sec ago
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Pakistan, Iran chambers of commerce sign agreement aimed at increasing exports to $10 billion

Pakistan, Iran chambers of commerce sign agreement aimed at increasing exports to $10 billion
  • Governors of Pakistan’s Punjab and Iran’s Razavi Khorasan provinces attend signing of MoU in Lahore
  • Pakistan, Iran have often been at odds over militancy and instability along shared, porous border 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s and Iran’s chambers of commerce have signed an agreement aimed at increasing exports between the two countries to $10 billion, state-run media reported on Monday, as the two sides eye increasing trade to move past strained ties. 

The development takes place after Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of general staff of Iran’s armed forces, visited Pakistan last month to hold talks with the country’s civil and military leadership on border management, economic cooperation and regional issues. 

Pakistan and Iran have often been at odds over instability along their shared, porous border and routinely trade blame for not rooting out militancy. Tensions surged in January last year when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, with both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s territory.

“A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Mashhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Lahore,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

“The purpose of the MoU is to take bilateral volume of exports to ten billion dollars between the two countries,” the statement said. 

It said the governor of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, Sardar Saleem Haider Khan and the governor general of Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province, Gholam Hossein Mozaffari, both attended the signing ceremony.

Khan said his Iranian counterpart expressed “great interest” in Pakistani products, stressing that both countries should focus on expanding trade relations.

“He said the Iranian Governor has assured to consider reducing tourist and business visa fees and improving facilities for easier travel and trade,” the report said. 

Later, both governors inaugurated a one-day shopping festival organized by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Expo Center Lahore.

Iran’s late president Ebrahim Raisi toured Pakistan in April 2024 as both countries sought to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes. 

During Raisi’s three-day visit, the two governments signed MoUs and agreements covering different fields including trade, science and technology, agriculture, health, culture and judicial matters. 

Raisi had said that the volume of trade between the two countries “is not acceptable at all” and that they should enhance bilateral trade to $10 billion. 


Pakistan begins first anti-polio drive of 2025 to vaccinate over 45 million children

Pakistan begins first anti-polio drive of 2025 to vaccinate over 45 million children
Updated 54 min 17 sec ago
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Pakistan begins first anti-polio drive of 2025 to vaccinate over 45 million children

Pakistan begins first anti-polio drive of 2025 to vaccinate over 45 million children
  • Around 400,000 polio vaccinators will administer vaccines door-to-door to children, says official 
  • Pakistan has reported only one case this year but last year, it reported an alarming 73 cases of disease

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally kicked off its first anti-polio drive of 2025 today, Monday, to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five, the health ministry said as the country hopes to stem the spread of the disease. 

The Pakistan polio program conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, and this year’s first anti-polio vaccination campaign is expected to continue till Feb. 9. Pakistan has assembled teams of around 400,000 polio workers to go door-to-door countrywide to vaccinate children below five years of age, Coordinator for Health Dr. Mukhtar Bharath said. 

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched Pakistan’s first anti-polio drive of 2025 during an event in Islamabad on Sunday, administering polio drops to children during the ceremony. 

“During the polio campaign, more than 45 million children across the country will be administered polio drops,” the Ministry of Health’s spokesperson said. 

Dr. Bharath called on parents to support polio vaccinators and ensure their children received the vaccines. 

“It is the national and moral responsibility of parents to vaccinate all children under the age of five,” he said. 

Pakistan has reported only one polio case this year. However, last year the South Asian country reported 73 cases with Balochistan province reporting 27, the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh reporting 22 case each, and Pakistan’s capital city and eastern Punjab province each reporting one case of the disease throughout the year. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the disease is endemic. 

Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.

Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
 


Pakistan busts international drug gang, frees family ‘framed’ for smuggling narcotics

Pakistan busts international drug gang, frees family ‘framed’ for smuggling narcotics
Updated 03 February 2025
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Pakistan busts international drug gang, frees family ‘framed’ for smuggling narcotics

Pakistan busts international drug gang, frees family ‘framed’ for smuggling narcotics
  • The family was detained in Saudi Arabia after their luggage tag was swapped by the gang at the airport
  • Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praises Anti-Narcotics Force, thanks Saudi government for their cooperation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has busted an international drug gang and arrested nine suspects who had “framed” a Pakistani family in their bid to smuggle narcotics to Saudi Arabia, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Sunday.

Farhana Akram, a resident of Lahore, had traveled to Saudi Arabia with her four family members, Haroon Ali, Malik Aziz, Fouzia Aziz, and Zakria Begum, on December 23, when the gang swapped Akram’s luggage tag with the help of an airport staff, according to the interior ministry.

Consequently, Farhana and her family members were detained in Saudi Arabia. The ANF investigated the case and detained a porter after viewing airport footage, which led to the arrest of nine suspects, including the ringleader.

“The ANF provided evidence to Saudi authorities, which led to the release of the innocent family,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and ANF Director-General Maj. Gen. Abdul Mueed visited the affected family at their residence and congratulated them on their return home.

“The pain the family endured is indescribable,” he said, praising the ANF and the Saudi authorities for their cooperation. “I extend special thanks to the Saudi government.”

Naqvi said the ANF had initiated a nationwide crackdown against smugglers, cautioning citizens to remain vigilant against individuals offering free Umrah packages as such offers could be deceitful.

Separately, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Sunday it had arrested 10 persons deported from Saudi Arabia for allegedly begging in the Kingdom, despite traveling there on Umrah visas.

The trend of beggars abusing visas to beg in foreign countries has Pakistan worried that it could impact genuine visa-seekers and particularly religious pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia. According to widespread media reports, Riyadh raised this issue with Islamabad at various forums last year.

Pakistanis are the second-largest expatriate community in the Kingdom, with over 2.5 million living and working in Saudi Arabia, the top source of remittances to the South Asian country.


Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief continues relief efforts in Pakistan, Lebanon and Syria

Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief continues relief efforts in Pakistan, Lebanon and Syria
Updated 02 February 2025
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Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief continues relief efforts in Pakistan, Lebanon and Syria

Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief continues relief efforts in Pakistan, Lebanon and Syria
  • The charity distributed 2,160 food packages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram and Buner districts as well as Sukkur in Sindh
  • The aid was given to families in flood-affected areas as part of the Saudi organization’s Food Security Support Project 2025

RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s (KSrelief) humanitarian and relief efforts continue with the distribution of food, hygiene supplies as well as the provision of emergency transport services.

In in Ma’arrat Misrin of Syria’s Idlib Governorate, KSrelief handed out 672 food boxes and 672 hygiene kits as part of the second phase of the food aid and hygiene kit distribution project for populations affected by the earthquake in 2025.

In Lebanon’s Akkar Governorate and Miniyeh district, the aid agency during the past week distributed 175,000 bags of bread to Syrian and Palestinian refugees as well as residents of host communities. The initiative was part of the fourth phase of Al-Amal Charitable Bakery Project in the country.

In the Battagram and Buner districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as well as the Sukkur district in Sindh province of Pakistan, 2,160 food packages were given to families in flood-affected areas as part of the Food Security Support Project 2025

Meanwhile, KSrelief delivered 125 tons of dates to Sudan as a gift from the Kingdom.

In north Lebanon, the KSrelief-funded ambulance service of Subul Al-Salam Social Association in the Miniyeh district carried out 61 missions during the past week, including transporting patients to and from hospitals and treating burn injuries.


Islamabad lawyers call strike today over ‘unconstitutional’ transfer of judges

Islamabad lawyers call strike today over ‘unconstitutional’ transfer of judges
Updated 02 February 2025
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Islamabad lawyers call strike today over ‘unconstitutional’ transfer of judges

Islamabad lawyers call strike today over ‘unconstitutional’ transfer of judges
  • The development comes a day after Pakistan’s president approved transfer of three judges from Sindh, Balochistan and Lahore to Islamabad High Court
  • Pakistan’s constitution empowers the president to transfer a judge from one high court to another after the concerned judge consents to the decision

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) and the Islamabad District Bar Association (IDBA) have announced a strike on Monday to protest recent transfer of judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), calling them “unconstitutional measures affecting the judiciary and the legal profession.”
The announcement was made after a joint meeting of lawyer bodies a day after President Asif Ali Zardari approved the transfer of three judges from the high courts of Sindh, Balochistan and Lahore to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), amid opposition from five IHC judges.
Zardari approved the transfers of Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and the Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) Justice Muhammad Asif to the IHC. Local media reported the government was considering elevating Justice Dogar to the post of the IHC chief justice.
In a statement issued after Sunday’s meeting of lawyer bodies, the IBC said the legal fraternity of Islamabad “strongly condemns” the recent notification regarding the transfer of judges from other provinces to the Islamabad High Court, describing the move as a “direct violation of the principles of judicial independence and regional representation.”
“It undermines the autonomy of the Islamabad high Court,” the IBC said. “The legal fraternity of Islamabad ensures its commitment to resist the unjustified transfers and appointments of judges from other provinces.”
Pakistan’s constitution empowers the president to transfer a judge from one high court to another after the concerned judge consents to the decision. The president can approve the transfer after consulting the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief justice of both high courts.
On Friday, five of 10 IHC judges opposed Justice Dogar’s transfer in a letter addressed to the chief justices of the Supreme Court and high courts. The five judges said if the decision to transfer the judge was aimed at elevating him to the post of IHC chief justice, it would be a “fraud on the constitution.”
The IBC said the lawyer bodies will pursue all legal and constitutional avenues to challenge the move and safeguard the “judicial independence of Islamabad.”
“An All-Pakistan Lawyers’ Convention will be held under the Islamabad Bar Council tomorrow... to formulate future strategy,” it said on Sunday.