Category: 1. Pakistan

ISLAMABAD:

In a major policy shift, the government on Tuesday announced a significant reduction in restrictive regulatory duties on imported food, vehicles, and personal care goods. The decision benefits international food franchises and importers of new and old vehicles.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued a notification reducing regulatory duties on hundreds of imported items. These changes were approved by the federal cabinet through circulation. However, duties on goods that could harm local manufacturing remain unchanged — except for cars and iron and steel.

Dog and cat food, cheese, and other consumer goods became cheaper starting July 1 — the first day of fiscal year 2025-26. In a separate notification, the government also slashed additional customs duties, which were previously used as a tool to extract more revenue.

The changes in the regulatory and additional customs duty are part of a broader government plan to abolish these duties over a period of four to five years. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank support this strategy. The notification showed that international food chains will benefit the most, along with their local consumers.

Regulatory duty on mobile phone SIM cards was reduced from 15% to 12%. Duty on new cars and mini vans was cut by one-third to 10%.

Duty on used mini vans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) was also reduced. The biggest relief was for imported SUVs, with a 44% cut — bringing the duty to 50%. Imported sunglasses and wristwatches have also become cheaper.

While a Rs10 per chicken federal excise duty has been imposed, the government has cut the import duty on live poultry.

Regulatory duty on live poultry and fresh or chilled fish (excluding fillets and meat) was halved to 5%. Duty on birds’ eggs was lowered from 15% to 10%, and on imported vegetables to 5%.

Instant coffee in retail packs saw a one-fifth cut, bringing the duty down to 32%.

Dog and cat food now carries 40% duty, also a one-fifth reduction. Tobacco (stemmed or stripped) was cut to 40%.

Duty on coconuts, Brazil nuts, and cashews dropped to 16%. Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, and mangoes now carry 20% duty—a one-fourth cut. Duty on oranges is now 12%. Duty on papaws and apples dropped from 45% to 36%. Other nuts saw a 4% cut in regulatory duty.

However, the duty on sugar confectionery remains at 40% to protect local millers. Duty on potatoes fell from 55% to 44%. Pineapples are now taxed at 40%.

Duty on frozen fish is halved to 17.5%. Cheese and curd imports now face 40% duty — a 10% cut.

Duty on imported milk, cream, and yogurt dropped from 25% to 20%. Natural honey is taxed at 24%, down from 30%. Duty on edible insects and animal-based products is now 5%. Ware potatoes are taxed at 20%, down from 25%.

Perfumes, toilet waters, and makeup preparations saw a one-fifth duty cut, now taxed at 44%. Shaving preparations are at 40%. Soaps have also become cheaper.

Leather and imitation leather clothing and accessories now face 40% duty. Cigarette paper is taxed at 24% — a 20% reduction.

Woven fabrics made from high-tenacity nylon, polyamides, or polyesters now carry just 1% duty. Various ceramics also saw cuts, reducing construction costs.

Imitation jewellery is now taxed at 36%, benefiting consumers.

Semi-finished iron or non-alloy steel has a new duty of 12%. Flat-rolled steel (600mm+ wide, hot-rolled) now has a duty of 2.5%, cut by half. Door locks also saw a 50% reduction to 2.5%.

TV remote controls now carry half the previous duty. Chandeliers saw a rate drop to 32%. Video game consoles and machines now have 40% duty.

The government also reduced additional customs duties across hundreds of tariff lines.

Items under the 15% tariff slab now carry 2% lower additional duty. Those under the 20% slab saw a 4% cut. Goods under the 30% and higher slabs, or with specific rates, saw a 6% reduction.

Earlier, the government had decided to abolish or substantially cut regulatory duties on 1,984 tariff lines. The move aimed to reduce protection for local industries by 52% over five years.

After pushback from the business community and within the cabinet, 285 of those lines were revised again. The original plan targeted raw materials and semi-finished goods. However, finished goods — also produced locally — were also included in the cuts.

ISLAMABAD:

The Power Division said on Tuesday that there was no plan to impose a surcharge on electricity bills to bear the cost of commercial loans taken from banks to retire circular debt.

An official of the Power Division revealed this during a public hearing conducted to consider a motion of the division seeking tariff reduction of up to Rs1.15 per unit due to rebasing. The division informed the hearing that average national tariff would be slashed from Rs32.73 per unit to Rs31.59 per unit – a decline of Rs1.14. Officials said that base tariff for all consumers, except for lifeline consumers, would go down by Rs1.15 per unit.

Tanveer Bari, representing the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, raised the issue of a new power surcharge on electricity bills. He argued that the government was going to give a relief of Rs1.15 per unit but at the same time it was preparing to slap a surcharge of Rs3.23 per unit due to loans taken from banks.

He said that the surcharge could go up in case of lower electricity consumption. Bari protested over giving only one day to review the motion and other people also approached Nepra, asking it to give at least seven days in that regard.

He pleaded the regulator not to approve the petition, adding that the government had claimed a big relief following deals with the independent power producers but in reality it was a very thin relief.

He also criticised the increasing fixed charges for industries and demanded the removal of a cap on solar net metering to boost industrial activities.

Another intervener Amir Sheikh questioned about the relief being given to consumers. Some interveners pointed out that the industry was enjoying a relief of Rs6 per unit till June 30 but industrial rates would go up by Rs5 per unit after the rebasing of tariffs.

DISCOs slammed for overbilling

Nepra officials said that power distribution companies (DISCOs) were denying tariff relief to protected consumers by manipulating the reading of electricity meters.

DISCOs increase the consumption of units to take consumers out of the 200-unit protected category to send high bills, they said, adding that they had received several complaints and were probing the matter.

Rehan Javed, an intervener, said that the actual determined tariff was not taken into consideration in relation to K-Electric’s (KE) uniform tariff. It was feared that Karachi consumers would have to pay a surcharge if the actual KE tariff was not taken into account during rebasing.

He asked about tariff structure and called for engaging industries or industrial associations in tariff rebasing. He argued that B3 meter consumers were bearing losses; therefore a separate tariff should be set for them.

Javed emphasised that the sanctioned load for industries should be enhanced to help increase Pakistan’s exports. He also called for rectifying the anomaly in peak consumption hours for industries, adding that a new tariff design should be framed.

The intervener asked who was paying grid maintenance charges and proposed fixed charges for solar net metering.

Industrialist Arif Bilwani argued that the Power Division had filed a petition in anticipation of cabinet’s approval. However, Power Division officials said that the cabinet had already given the go-ahead for tariff rebasing.

He also raised the issue of cold storages, which had been delayed due to the Power Division’s failure to come up with comments. Nepra asked why the division had not given its comments and raised the legal question whether the regulator could give its decision without comments from the Power Division. Officials of the division said that they were working on seeking approval of the cabinet regarding cold storages.

Senior citizen Tariq Abdul Majeed highlighted the higher tariffs being paid by consumers using more than 200 units in a month. Responding to that, the Power Division officials clarified that the government was giving a subsidy to people consuming up to 200 units.

KALAM:

Asim Ali, a 55-year-old resident of Oshu village in Upper Kalam, watched helplessly as water surged into his stone house, as result of the rising River Swat.

The recent flooding, triggered by the accelerated melting of glaciers combined with heavy rains, forced many villagers to hastily place sandbags around their homes in an attempt to stem the gushing water and salvage belongings.

“The water flow in River Swat has been increasing every summer due to the rapid melting of glaciers and erratic rainfalls,” said Asim.

Transporting stones on donkeys from nearby mountains, Asim and his family are trying to restore their damaged home.

He recalled a time when glaciers were much closer to the village. “Our streams used to flow steadily. Now, they either dry up or flood unpredictably,” he said.

He blamed illegal construction, glaciers melting, encroachment, and deforestation for amplifying the river’s velocity and destructive power.

For generations, villagers like Asim have mostly relied on glacier fed irrigation to cultivate crops such as wheat, barley, peaches, and apricots. But changing water patterns have made farming increasingly uncertain.

“We now depend on rain, which is rarely sufficient. Sometimes, we lose entire crops to drought or sudden floods,” he lamented.

Swat’s glaciers are vital to the Indus River system and its tributaries, supplying clean water to millions and sustaining the region’s fragile ecosystem.

However, their rapid retreat due to global warming is posing a grave threat.

“As temperatures rise, glaciers are receding at an alarming rate, triggering ecological, social, and economic consequences,” said environmental expert Dr Shafiqur Rehman.

Pakistan hosts over 7,253 glaciers-more than anywhere outside the polar regions. Notable among them are Baltoro (63 km), Biafo (67 km), and Batura (57 km) in Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as nearly 500 glaciers in Upper Chitral’s Tirich Mir range, which feed major rivers such as the Swat, Panjkora, Kabul, and Indus.

“Our irrigation systems depend heavily on these glaciers,” said Dr Rehman, adding with rapid population growth and shrinking glaciers, Pakistan faces an impending water crisis-and by extension, food insecurity.

Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he noted that the Himalayan region is warming faster than the global average. Some glaciers are losing up to five meters in thickness each year. Since glaciers act as natural reservoirs, storing water and releasing it gradually, their accelerated melting is upsetting this balance.

Jailed senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have jointly called on the party leadership to initiate a dialogue process to end “political instability”.

In a letter addressed to the PTI leadership, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry, and Omar Sarfraz Cheema stressed that negotiations are the only viable solution to the current political crisis.

Several PTI leaders, including its founder Imran Khan, have been behind bars for nearly a year. Many of them are facing charges mainly stemming from the May 9 protests — in which state installations, including the Jinnah House, were attacked.

In the letter, available with Geo News, the jailed leaders have proposed that dialogue should not be limited to political stakeholders but should also include engagement with “powerful quarters.”

They further recommended that access to the party’s patron-in-chief be made easier to help form a negotiation committee.

The letter also suggested that detained leaders be included in the dialogue process and underscored that talks should be ongoing rather than treated as a one-time effort.

May 9 mayhem

A large number of workers and supporters of PTI staged almost countrywide demonstrations on May 9, 2023 — when the PTI founding chairman was arrested by paramilitary troops on the directions of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with an alleged corruption case.

The demonstrators destroyed public and private properties, attacked military installations — the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and the Lahore Corps Commander’s House (Jinnah House) — and ransacked relics of martyrs.

Following the incidents, the civil and military leadership resolved to give exemplary punishment under the relevant laws including Army Act to all those involved in hooliganism, arson, ransacking of public and private properties, attacking sensitive military installations and desecration of martyrs’ monuments on May 9.

The deposed prime minister, who was ousted from power via the opposition’s no-confidence motion in April 2022, has been facing a slew of charges ranging from corruption to terrorism since his removal as premier.

Khan has been behind bars since August 2023 after he was sentenced in multiple cases ahead of the February 8 elections.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the government has decided to enhance the country’s water storage capacity, given India’s designs to weaponise water.

India in April held the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance following the attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 — an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad without evidence. The treaty allocates the Indus Basin’s six rivers between the two countries: India gets the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej), while Pakistan receives nearly 80 per cent of the water from the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab).

Pakistan termed any attempt to suspend its water share an “act of war”, noting the IWT had no provision for unilateral suspension. It later said it was considering court action, citing a violation of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in Hague also ruled India cannot unilaterally suspend or hold the IWT in abeyance.

During a visit to the National Emergencies Operations Centre today, the prime minister referred to the PCA’s order, emphasising that India had no authority to suspend the IWT unilaterally.

“But the enemy has certain evil designs against Pakistan and wants to take steps against the waters treaty. For that, the government has decided that we will build our water storage.”

He said the government would build a “non-controversial water storage capacity” by utilising resources such as the Diamer Bhasha dam and others.

PM Shehbaz said there was a clear clause in the 1991 water accord between the provinces to build on water capacity.

“We will build this capacity with our own resources in the next few years. There is a critical role of the National Disaster Management Authority in this.”

The prime minister directed that weather warnings and calamity threats should be regularly issued through phone messages in collaboration with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

The prime minister recounted the disastrous impacts of the catastrophic floods in 2022. He said that Pakistan was unfortunately among the countries on the world map which could be hit by natural disasters such as cloudbursts, even though it had hardly any contribution to the greenhouse effect.

During the year 2022, Pakistan had suffered more than any country in the world, he noted. More than 1,700 lives were lost, vast stretches of farmland were washed away, homes and infrastructure were damaged, and the national exchequer suffered losses of Rs30 billion, according to government estimates.

The prime minister further said that glacial melting due to heat waves also demanded the highest level of preparedness.

“What happened in Swat in which precious lives were lost, engulfed the entire nation in a pall of gloom,” he said and stressed that the stakeholders in the matter should take an honest review of the incident, directing for a formulation of a comprehensive mechanism in collaboration with the provinces to prevent such occurrences in the future.

The prime minister also ordered a report in this regard.

He opined that in the aftermath of the floods of 2022, the relevant ministers negotiated the grants and public-private partnerships for building resilient infrastructure in the country.

The prime minister appreciated the National Emergencies Operations Centre and expressed hope that the relevant authorities would fully utilise the resilient platform for the progress of the country’s economy and social sectors.

He also assured the government’s complete support in strengthening the institute and its capacity building.

The prime minister hoped that the facility would be connected with the provinces and could convey real-time information with interventions such as an early warning system.

During his visit, he was given a briefing by NDMA Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik over the current monsoon season, the flood situation and the precautionary measures taken in this regard.

ISLAMABAD:

Following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for dialogue, detained Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders from Lahore have expressed their willingness to engage in political negotiations.

In an open letter addressed to the government, the senior incarcerated leaders proposed a political dialogue to help steer the country out of its ongoing constitutional and political crisis. However, they made it clear that no talks would be possible without prior permission to meet the PTI founder.

The letter, signed by senior PTI figures Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, and Umar Sarfraz Cheema, emphasised that the country is facing one of its worst political and constitutional crises, and that comprehensive negotiations are the only viable path forward.

The leaders called for dialogue not only at the political level but also involving state institutions to ensure that all stakeholders can move ahead with mutual trust. They stressed that political discussions must begin immediately and should include PTI leaders currently imprisoned in Lahore jails.

A key point raised in the letter is that access to Imran Khan is essential before any negotiation committee can be formed or any decisions finalised. Without the PTI chairman’s guidance, they said, no meaningful or representative dialogue can take place.

The letter further insists that one-time access to Khan would not suffice. Instead, regular consultations must be ensured so that leadership input remains continuous and the negotiation process remains effective and result-oriented.

Read More: PM holds out an olive branch to PTI

The development comes as PM Shehbaz last week extended a formal invitation to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for direct talks.

According to sources, the exchange reportedly took place just before the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on reserved seats, during a National Assembly session when he approached PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, initiating a brief but meaningful conversation, including a handshake.

The PM was quoted as saying: “Let’s sit and talk — negotiations are the solution to everything. I’ve said this before and I’m saying it again: we must talk.” Barrister Gohar responded succinctly with an optimistic, “InshaAllah” (God willing).

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ISLAMABAD, Jul 01 (APP):Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board has decided to consult the Establishment and Cabinet Divisions for legal guidance on integrating maintenance staff transferred from the Public Works Department (PWD) into the CDA structure.

The decision was taken during the Board’s 12th meeting, chaired by CDA Chairman and Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa on Tuesday.

The Board directed that a set of recommendations be drafted after thoroughly reviewing all legal frameworks.

The meeting also approved a comprehensive feasibility plan to operationalize the Gandhara Heritage and Cultural Centre at F-9 Park.

Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa stated, “The revenue generated from this center will be invested back into the city for public welfare, better civic amenities, and Islamabad’s overall beautification and development.”

Legal matters were also on the agenda. The Board approved the issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Plot No. 676D-12/2, in compliance with the Islamabad High Court’s directive in Writ Petition No. 2214/2022 titled “Hasan Bano vs FGEHA and Others.”

In another land-related decision, the Board accepted a request by the Motamar Al-Alam Al-Islami to return an allocated plot in Sector H-8.

CDA clarified that while it would refund the original allotment amount, the current market value of the returned plot is significantly higher.

Additionally, the Board approved an alternate plot allocation in exchange for Plot No. 39 in Sector I-10/3, again in accordance with the Islamabad High Court’s instructions.

Chairman Randhawa emphasized the CDA’s commitment to making Islamabad a model city. “CDA is deploying all available resources to ensure the capital’s growth, prosperity, and aesthetic appeal while meeting the residential, transportation, and recreational needs of its citizens,” he said.

One of the key discussions centered on the transfer fee, registration charges, and stamp duty applicable to urban and rural properties within CDA and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) limits, including private housing societies

Senior officials, including CDA Board members and the Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, attended the meeting.

Call for inclusive negotiations and access to party founder gains momentum from behind the bars

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Updated On: Wed, 02 Jul 2025

08:53:10 PKT

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), currently incarcerated in Lahore jail, have issued a formal appeal urging the initiation of comprehensive negotiations to steer the country out of its worsening political and economic crisis.

In a joint statement released from jail on Tuesday, the PTI leaders emphasised that dialogue is the only viable path toward stability. “Negotiations must take place at all levels,” the statement read, adding that both political actors and state institutions need to engage constructively.

The statement further proposed that political negotiations be prioritised as an entry point to broader talks, with incarcerated PTI leaders included in the process. It also called for improved access to PTI’s founding chairman to facilitate the formation of a negotiation committee.

Also read: Aleema Khan claims 26th Amendment being used to sideline PTI founder

The appeal was signed by prominent PTI figures including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Umar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, and Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry.