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KARACHI: The All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industries Karachi on Friday expressed deep grief over the devastation caused by the recent rains in the city, holding Mayor Karachi and Sindh Chief Minister directly responsible for what they termed cruel and stone-hearted conduct. President Mahmood Hamid, Senior Vice President Syed Liaquat Ali, Vice President Javed Haji Abdullah, Syed Naveed Ahmed, and Usman Sharif said that despite prior forecasts of heavy rainfall, no preventive measures were taken by Mayor Karachi to safeguard citizens and businesses. They said that as a result, areas stretching from Keamari to Sohrab Goth, Gulshan-e-Iqbal…

ISLAMABAD: The Board of Directors (BoD) of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) has decided to restructure the organization, establish new regional offices and initiate the process for appointing a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization at the earliest. The decisions were taken here on Friday during the 31st BoD meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Industries and Production, Haroon Akhtar Khan. The meeting was attended by Secretary Industries and Production Saif Anjum, SMEDA CEO Soqrat Aman Rana and other senior officials. SMEDA hosts 8th meeting…

LAHORE: Industry insiders are calling for restrictions on meat exports to stabilize domestic prices and strengthen food security, urging the government to modernize Pakistan’s meat supply chain. They recommend replacing the outdated ‘Phatta System’ with hygienic, standards-compliant retail outlets, while also bolstering livestock farming to improve both output and quality. Amid growing concerns, experts presented compelling figures to underline the urgent need for reform. Pakistan’s meat and edible offal exports have surged from USD14 million in 2003 to a record USD467 million in 2023, reflecting an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18%. In the fiscal year 2023–24, exports…

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has granted approval for the acquisition of a certain shareholding in Route2Health (Private) Limited by AZT Foundation from Tausif Ahmad Khan, Zainub Abbas, and Javaid Hussain, under a Share Purchase Agreement. AZT Foundation, a UAE-based organization, was established for the purpose of holding and managing the assets on behalf of the aforementioned individuals (sellers). Route2Health (Pvt) Limited is engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of nutraceuticals and health supplements in Pakistan. Following a detailed competitive analysis, the CCP identified the relevant product market as ‘Nutraceutical and Herbal Supplements’. The transaction…

KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Energy, Development, and Planning Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, stated that due to flooding at Thaddo Dam, a 132kV tower of the Sindh Transmission & Dispatch Company (STDC) collapsed, resulting in an interruption of 100 MW electricity supply to Karachi. Acting promptly, Minister Shah directed STDC CEO Saleem Ahmed Sheikh to immediately restore the tower and resume power transmission to Karachi. Following Minister Shah’s instructions, CEO STDC Saleem Sheikh and his team—including Senior GM Tariq Saeed, Technical Manager Saad Zuberi, and Assistant Technical Manager Muhammad Bilal successfully erected the collapsed tower on a temporary basis, restoring 100…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Thar Coal Block-1 Power Generation Company, Sino Sindh Resources, and Shanghai Electric Engineering Consulting Company to launch a five-year programme for training, capacity building, exchange of Pakistani engineers, and Chinese language learning. The initiative, tied to the Thar Block-1 project under CPEC, is being described as an important step for strengthening Pakistan’s engineering workforce. According to the agreement, 20 fresh engineering graduates will undergo six-week training at Thar each year, combining classroom learning with practical exposure in power plant and mining operations. In five years, a total of…

LAHORE: Industry insiders are calling for restrictions on meat exports to stabilize domestic prices and strengthen food security, urging the government to modernize Pakistan’s meat supply chain. They recommend replacing the outdated ‘Phatta System’ with hygienic, standards-compliant retail outlets, while also bolstering livestock farming to improve both output and quality. Amid growing concerns, experts presented compelling figures to underline the urgent need for reform. Pakistan’s meat and edible offal exports have surged from USD14 million in 2003 to a record USD467 million in 2023, reflecting an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18%. In the fiscal year 2023–24, exports…

In Thailand, elections do not necessarily decide who governs. Over the past few weeks, that paradox has played out once more, with a prime minister ousted, the country’s best-known political dynasty sidelined and a new leader taking the reins.For young Thai activist Aitarnik Chitwiset, the endless chaos feels like it has no off-ramp.“I’m disillusioned and exhausted by our politics,” she told This Week in Asia.At just 28, Aitarnik is deeply invested in her country’s future. But like many young Thais who yearn for more democracy, she feels drained by a conservative establishment that clings to power, rarely loosening its grip,…

Republicans in the US House of Representatives are escalating their targeting of US-China joint institutes and degree programmes, identifying dozens of such partnerships as “high-risk” for the first time in a report released on Friday.In a 39-page report, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce argued that joint degree programmes – particularly those in science and technology – provided China “sustained access to US expertise” and that joint institutes operate “under the thumb of the [Chinese Communist Party]”.In total, the committees name about 50 ongoing partnerships, including a physics…

Chinese scholars have criticised US-led sanctions over Xinjiang, saying their research showed the measures had resulted in long-term economic damage, including job losses.The findings, presented at an academic seminar in Hong Kong last month, offered one of the first aggregated assessments of the impacts of US sanctions imposed on Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses in the far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Beijing has denied those accusations and condemned the sanctions as “intending to create unemployment” in the region.The sanctions, first imposed in 2019 during US President Donald Trump’s first term, have targeted a growing list of companies…