Pakistan announces tax incentives for wheat imports to meet shortage

A farmer harvests wheat crops in a field in Peshawar on May 2, 2020. In 2020, Pakistan registered wheat production deficit of 1.5 million metric tons, which officials say has pushed the commodity's price up in the open market. (AFP)
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Updated 20 July 2020
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Pakistan announces tax incentives for wheat imports to meet shortage

  • Pakistan registers wheat production deficit of 1.5 million metric tons, which officials say has pushed the commodity’s price up in the open market
  • Wheat importers will be exempt from the 60 percent regulatory duty, 11 percent customs duty, 17 percent sales tax and 6 percent withholding tax

ISLAMABAD: The government has abolished various taxes and duties on Pakistan’s imports of wheat to bring down its price in the local market and ensure smooth supply of subsidized wheat flour to the public, officials said on Saturday.

Wheat is one of the main agricultural crops in Pakistan, with around 80 percent of farmers growing it on an area of about 9 million hectares — close to 40 percent of the country’s total cultivated land. For the last couple of years, experts say, Pakistan has been facing wheat shortages driven mainly by a rapid population growth and climate change.

“We have offered multiple incentives to wheat importers including exemption from the anti-hoarding act, sales tax and withholding tax,” Dr. Javed Humayun, senior joint secretary at the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, told Arab News on Saturday. 

Dr. Javed Ahmad, director Wheat Research Institute talks to Arab News.

With the new policy that was unrolled on Wednesday, wheat importers will be exempt from the 60 percent regulatory duty, 11 percent customs duty, 17 percent sales tax and 6 percent withholding tax. Exemption from the anti-hoarding act means the government will allow them to store as much of the imported wheat as they want to.
Humayun said Pakistan had failed to achieve its wheat production target this year due to multiple reasons, including unexpected torrential rains from February to April, which destroyed the crop.
Against the production target of 27 million metric tons, Pakistan’s yield was 25.5 million tons, while it could procure only 6 million tons from growers to release the commodity at a subsidized rate — the target was 8.25 million tons, according to official data.

The wheat subsidy is in place to maintain official rates for wheat flour in the market. Failure to meet the procurement target results in price hikes and shortage of the staple.

The government has been under public pressure for the past two years for being unable to maintain wheat flour prices in the market and blamed growers and businessmen for hoarding the commodity to create artificial shortage.
Encouraged by the new wheat import policy, the private sector has already booked 270,000 metric tons of wheat for August and September. This, according to the government, will help make wheat flour available in the open market at affordable rates.

“Once the imported wheat hits the local market, this artificial shortage and price hike of the wheat flour will be over,” Humayun said.

According to members of the opposition, however, the government should first improve its procurement procedures as its failure to meet the target for subsidized wheat is due to the low rates it offers to farmers, who in turn choose to sell the commodity to businessmen, instead of government agencies.

“The private sector would buy more wheat from farmers by offering attractive rates against the government’s support price of Rs1,400 ($8.36) per 40 kilograms,” Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah, an opposition lawmaker and chairman of the Senate committee on food security, told Arab News.

“The government needs to focus on improving the per hectare yield of the crop to meet the required demand with the rapidly growing population,” Shah said, adding that the country’s demand for wheat was expected to increase to 34 million tons by 2028 with the population growth rate of 2.4 percent.
The government’s research institutes have been struggling to introduce new seed varieties to enhance the yield and fight adverse impacts of the changing climate.
“We are encouraging farmers to plant new seed varieties which give better yield along with resistance to rust disease,” Dr. Javed Ahmad, director at Wheat Research Institute in Faisalabad, told Arab News.
The process is complex and while the Faisalabad institute has developed around 70 seed varieties of wheat, Ahmad said only 10 of them have so far been recommended for cultivation.


Top Afghan diplomat in India quits after $2 million gold smuggling reports

Updated 5 sec ago
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Top Afghan diplomat in India quits after $2 million gold smuggling reports

  • Zakia Wardak was reportedly stopped last month on arrival at Mumbai airport, carrying 25 kilograms of gold
  • The Afghan consul-general was not arrested because of her diplomatic immunity, but the gold was confiscated

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan’s top diplomat in India resigned days after she was reportedly caught by airport authorities smuggling nearly $2 million worth of gold into the country.
Zakia Wardak, the Afghan Consul-General in India’s financial capital Mumbai, posted a statement on social media platform X announcing her resignation.
Afghanistan’s embassy in New Delhi shut down in November, more than two years after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul following the collapse of the Western-backed government, leaving Wardak as the country’s most senior representative in India.
“It is with great regret that I announce my decision to step away from my role at the Consulate and Embassy in India, effective May 5, 2024,” Wardak said Saturday.
Indian media reports said Wardak was last month stopped by financial intelligence authorities at Mumbai airport on arrival from Dubai — along with her son — carrying 25 kilograms of gold.
She was not arrested because of her diplomatic immunity, the reports said, but the gold — worth around $1.9 million — was confiscated.
Wardak’s resignation leaves thousands of Afghan nationals, including students and businessmen, without any consular representation in India.
Most foreign nations — including India — do not officially recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban government, but acknowledge them as the de facto ruling authority.
In many Afghan missions, diplomats appointed by the former government have refused to cede control of embassy buildings and property to representatives of the Taliban authorities.
Wardak said in the statement that she had “encountered numerous personal attacks and defamation” over the past year.
Such incidents “have demonstrated the challenges faced by women in Afghan society,” she added, making no explicit reference to the gold allegations.
The Taliban authorities have full control of around a dozen Afghan embassies abroad — including in Pakistan, China, Turkiye and Iran.
Others operate on a hybrid system, with the ambassador gone but embassy staff still carrying out routine consular work such as issuing visas and other documents.
Most countries evacuated their missions from Kabul as the Taliban closed in on the Afghan capital in August 2021, although a handful of embassies — including Pakistan, China and Russia — never shut, and still have ambassadors in Kabul.


At OIC summit, Pakistan expresses concern over Israel’s ‘brutal’ military onslaught in Gaza

Updated 24 min 13 sec ago
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At OIC summit, Pakistan expresses concern over Israel’s ‘brutal’ military onslaught in Gaza

  • Pakistan’s Deputy PM Ishaq Dar expresses full support for Palestine’s inclusion as a United Nations member
  • Dar urges OIC member states at Banjul Summit to push for immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Palestine

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday expressed his deep concern over Israel’s “brutal military onslaught” in the West Bank and Gaza, state-run media reported, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine.
Dar was speaking at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit being held against a backdrop of widespread anger over Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The Jewish state has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians and caused massive destruction of hospitals, schools and residential neighborhoods in the densely populated area.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister arrived in Gambia on Wednesday to present his country’s perspective on a wide range of issues, including the war in Gaza and the rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday expressed Pakistan’s deep concern over Israel’s ongoing brutal military onslaught against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
“In the backdrop of the genocide of Palestinians and atrocities of Israeli forces, he urged the OIC Member States to work together for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”
Dar also expressed Pakistan’s support for Palestine’s admission as a full member of the UN, demanding the resumption of the process for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister called for the creation of a viable, contiguous and sovereign state of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders.
Dar also spoke on an uptick in Islamophobic sentiments and incidents in different parts of the world, particularly since the outset of Israel’s war in Gaza last year in October.
He urged the OIC to formulate a joint strategy to work with global social media platforms to harmonize their content regulation policies for blasphemous, anti-Islamic and Islamophobic content.
“Dar also strongly condemned the surge in anti-Pakistan rhetoric and Islamophobic narratives by India’s political leaders during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections which threatened the regional stability,” the APP said.
He urged the OIC to work collectively to address the existential threat of climate change, which caused catastrophic floods in Pakistan in 2022 that killed over 1,700 people and affected over 33 million in total.
Dar met The Gambia’s president and his counterparts from Turkiye and Azerbaijan to discuss enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.


Pakistan to face India on Oct. 6 in women’s T20 World Cup clash 

Updated 05 May 2024
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Pakistan to face India on Oct. 6 in women’s T20 World Cup clash 

  • ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to run from Oct. 3-20 in Dhaka and Sylhet
  • Pakistan are placed in Group A with Australia, India, New Zealand, Qualifier 1

DHAKA: England will face South Africa in the opening match of the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh later this year, the International Cricket Council announced on Sunday.
The event will run from October 3 to 20 in the capital Dhaka and the northeastern city of Sylhet, with warm-up matches starting on September 27.
Hosts Bangladesh and the top six teams from the previous edition in South Africa — Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies — qualified automatically for the tournament, with Pakistan joining them as the next best ranked team.
Ireland, the UAE, Sri Lanka and Scotland are in contention for the remaining two places, with the semifinals of the qualifying tournament being held in the UAE.
Six-times winners and current world number one Australia will play in Group A alongside India, New Zealand, Pakistan and a Qualifier 1.
Neighbours and rivals India and Pakistan will face off on October 6.
Group B will feature South Africa, Bangladesh, England, West Indies, and Qualifier 2.
“Over the last six to seven years we have seen women’s cricket grow exponentially,” ICC chief executive officer Geoff Allardice said at the announcement of the fixture list and trophy unveiling in Dhaka.
“This is going to be a very special tournament,” he added.
It will be the ninth edition of the tournament, with Bangladesh previously hosting in 2014.


From bricks to clicks, Pakistani laborer achieves fame and financial independence via YouTube videos

Updated 05 May 2024
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From bricks to clicks, Pakistani laborer achieves fame and financial independence via YouTube videos

  • Riaz Ali who built homes working as a manual laborer initially began making videos on TikTok
  • 30-year-old made his YouTube channel in 2022 and has since become an online sensation

SANGHAR: Riaz Ali, 34, would stack brick over brick and bond them with mortar, a thick paste of cement, water and sand, as he built homes and did other manual labor work for years in the southern Pakistani district of Sanghar.

In 2022, he started making engaging video content that included throwing and catching mortar, targeting a tall pole with a motorbike tire and some prank videos, which have not only turned the daily wager into a millionaire but also a digital sensation.

Ali, better known as Riaz Jaan, initially posted videos on TikTok after which a friend advised him to post them on YouTube. He created his YouTube channel in April 2022 which was monetized only nine months later.

He now earns 20 times more than what he used to make two years ago.

“As a laborer, my wage was Rs1,500 [per day]. In a month, I used to earn Rs30,000 or Rs35,000 ($107-$125) as it was an inconsistent livelihood,” he told Arab News on Thursday.

“From YouTube, I earn more than Rs500,000 ($1,795) per month.”

Ali, who has 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube, 439,000 followers on TikTok and 359,000 on Facebook, says his content went viral through YouTube Shorts — vertical videos that have a duration of 60 seconds or less.

“My first earnings on YouTube were Rs800,000 ($2,872). I had never seen such a huge amount of money before. My family and I were so delighted that such a significant sum had come into my hands,” he said.

“After YouTube, my life changed. As they say, when Allah gives, He gives abundantly.”

Ali, who started working as a daily wager in 2010, has left his laboring job since becoming a digital sensation but still makes videos related to his former work.

He has also enabled the sharing of his viral videos on YouTube, helping several other content creators have engagement on their channels.

“There are people from various countries who repost my content and videos on their channels, and their channels have also been monetized,” he said. “I have granted them permission.”

This success has helped Ali buy two residential plots and two buffaloes, send his children to better schools, and take care of his family in a much better way. The 30-year-old has also bought a mobile phone worth Rs500,000, which he uses to create quality video content.

But Ali has not kept his success to himself and has passed his digital skills on to his family, friends and whoever he found willing to learn.

“Besides myself, my brother also has a YouTube channel where he posts labor-related videos. His channel has also been monetized,” he told Arab News.

“Additionally, I have two sons, Ali Ayan and Zeb Zohan, whose channel is also monetized.”

He says neither his brother’s nor his sons’ channels gained traction in the beginning and so, he began posting his content on their channels, which helped them gain momentum. Consequently, both channels were monetized.

The 30-year-old offers free, informal consultancy services to youth, who are interested in establishing their own YouTube channels, in his hometown of Jhol in Sanghar. He says he has around 50 to 60 youngsters, who either have monetized channels or are actively working toward them.

“I guide them all, and they follow my directions,” Ali said.

Ali Raza, a farmer and a friend of Ali, got inspired by seeing his friend earn through YouTube. Raza created his own account on the video-sharing website, where he posts funny videos.

“Since Riaz Jaan is teaching others, I also joined his group. It’s been four months since my YouTube channel has been monetized,” Ali Raza told Arab News.

“I earn between Rs25,000 and Rs30,000 ($89-$107) per month.”


Pakistan’s PM Sharif congratulates Sadiq Khan on winning third term as London mayor

Updated 05 May 2024
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Pakistan’s PM Sharif congratulates Sadiq Khan on winning third term as London mayor

  • Sadiq Khan secured historic third term in office as London mayor on Saturday 
  • PM Sharif says Khan’s third victory reflects his dedication to public service 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday for winning a third consecutive term in office, saying the landmark victory reflected the British-Pakistani official’s dedication to public service. 

Khan, 53, who was first elected in May 2016, beat his Conservative rival Susan Hall by more than 276,000 votes, with his win representing a swing of 3.2 percent to the Labour party. He won nine of the 14 constituencies, results showed on Saturday. 

Taking to social media platform X, Sharif offered his heartiest felicitations to Khan for his “hattrick” of victories. 

“As a hard-working British Pakistani, he not only raised the head of his parents high but also made every Pakistani to rejoice his victory with pride,” Sharif wrote.

He offered Khan best wishes for his future success as mayor of London. 

“The prime minister further said that his re-election for the third term also indicated his popularity and his devotion to public welfare,” the Pakistani prime minister wrote. 

Khan, who replaced Boris Johnson as London mayor in 2016 and who has widespread policing and budget powers, has been an increasingly divisive figure in the past few years regardless of the facts for or against, particularly in the suburbs, where he fared worse than in the inner city.

His supporters say he has multiple achievements to his name, such as expanding housebuilding, free school meals for young children, keeping transport costs in check and generally backing London’s minority groups. His critics say he has overseen a crime surge, been anti-car and has unnecessarily allowed pro-Palestinian marches to become a regular feature at weekends.

With inputs from AP