Day: March 12, 2024

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan says Pakistan’s apparel sector is undergoing profound transformation and is positioning itself for robust export growth.

He made these remarks during a public hearing by US International Trade Commission (ITC) on export competitiveness of the apparel industries in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan in the U.S market in Washington DC.

He said individual companies in Pakistan are adopting advanced traceability technologies to consciously champion supply chain transparency in alignment with global requirements.

The Ambassador said under Net Zero Pakistan Initiative, leading apparel companies are committed to accelerating the transition to sustainability and delivering Net Zero goal by 2050.

He also highlighted that United States is the largest export destination for Pakistan.

He said Pakistan has a 3.3 percent share of the US market in the textiles and apparel segment, however, all the exports of apparel products are subject to applicab
le MFN tariffs of up to 38.3 percent as Pakistan does not enjoy preferential access to the US market.

The Ambassador pointed out that Pakistan is the fifth largest cotton producer in the world and it is making concerted endeavors to increase cotton productivity and transition towards sustainable development.

He also pointed out that Pakistan followed a liberal investment regime that offered conducive environment to attract foreign and local investors.

He said during the last few years, the sector has attracted approximately 5 billion dollars of fresh local investment for expansion of the textiles and apparel manufacturing chain, including imports of around 2.2 billion dollars worth of new machinery from 2019 to 2023. The sector, therefore, has the capacity to ramp up the scale of apparel manufacturing further.

Masood Khan said that Pakistan’s customer base is diverse, and many prominent U.S enterprises and retailers, most of them Fortune 500, are already sourcing their products from Pakistan.

He said Pak
istani apparel exporters look forward to reinforcing the strong historical trade relations between the two countries.

Source: Radio Pakistan

The eight member cabinet of Sindh Government took oath during a ceremony in Karachi today.

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori administered the oath.

The Ministers who took the oath included Sharjeel Inam Memon, Dr. Azra Pechuhu, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Saeed Ghani, Jam Khan Shoro, Zia Hussain Lunjar, Sardar Mohammad Bakhsh Meher and Ali Hassan Zardari.

The ceremony was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, members of Sindh Assembly and other notables.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Polling for 48 Senate seats will be held on the second of the next month.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, fifty-two senators, after completing their six-year term will get retired tomorrow. However, election will not be held against four seats reserved for the erstwhile tribal areas. These seats have been abolished after the merger of tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.

Election will be held on seven general seats, two women and two technocrats/ Ulema from each province of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Two seats reserved for non-Muslims will be filled one each from Sindh and Punjab.

Two senators will be elected from the Islamabad Capital Territory, one each under the general as well as technocrat/Ulema category.

The commission will issue the election schedule on Thursday. Nomination papers with regard to the Senate elections can be obtained from the Election Commission Secretariat Islamabad as well as the provincial elec
tions commissioners of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Candidates can submit their nomination papers to their respective Returning Officers on Friday and Saturday.

Besides, any additional information regarding the Senate elections can be obtained at 051-9219335.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Ishaq Dar has formally assumed the role of the country’s 39th Foreign Minister.

On his arrival at the foreign ministry in Islamabad today, he was received by Secretary Foreign Affairs Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi and other senior officials.

The Foreign Minister was briefed by the Foreign Secretary and Additional Secretaries on Pakistan’s Foreign Policy and priority areas.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has rescheduled sitting of the Lower House to be held tomorrow.

Now the session will be held at the Parliament House in Islamabad at 4:00 pm instead of 2:00 pm.

Source: Radio Pakistan