Pak-China border trade to resume after 3 yrs

transmission of coronavirus between the two countries, the Khunjerab Pass was closed as soon as in November 2019.

through Khunjerab Pass from China,” said the GB home secretary.

Bangladesh’s State Minister expresses satisfaction over ties with Belgium

Islamabad, April 1 (IANS) After remaining closed for three years, trade and travel activities between Pakistan and China through the Khun�jerab Pass will resume on April 3.

All arrangements have been finalised on both sides to reopen the border point for bilateral trade and other activities under the China-Pakistan Eco�nomic Corridor (CPEC), Dawn reported.

Under an agreement, trade and travel activities between the two countries through the Khunjerab Pass start in April 1 and close on November 30, while there was a daily bus service from Sost Valley of GilgitBaltistan to Xinjiang province of China.

The first trade activity between China and Pakistan under CPEC had started via the Karakoram Highway in November 2016, Dawn reported. However, to contain the

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said that the federal government had been working for the revival of CPEC activities and all hurdles in the way of bilateral trade would be removed, Dawn reported.

According to officials, the prolonged closure of Khunjerab Pass had caused immense financial hardships to the local business community, while thousands of workers had become jobless.

During last three years, the Khunjerab Pass had been opened occasionally for emergency cargo transportation from China to Pakistan on specific days.

GB Home Secretary Rana Mohammad Saleem Afzal said that the officials on both sides had agreed to reopen Khunjerab Pass for trade and travel activities from April 3 and process of issuing border pass would start soon.

“Most important aspect is that it’s CPEC route. CPEC consignments will enter Pakistan

GB Collector of Customs Syed Fawad Ali Shah said that the volume of trade between two countries would increase after the reopening of the Khunjerab Pass.

He said all the required arrangements had been finalised for normal trade at Sost dry port, adding that he had held a meeting with traders, the port management and other stakeholders in this regard, Dawn reported.

Shah claimed that all stakeholders were happy and assured the administration of their cooperation in smooth trade activities at Sost dry port.

Haji Liaquat of the GB Importers and Exporters Association said the people affiliated with trade between the two countries were optimistic about the revival of economic activities in the region. He said GB people and government exchequer suffered losses worth billions of rupees owing to the prolonged closure of trade at Sost dry port, Dawn reported.

Pakistanis drown under cost of living as inflation hits all-time high

issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Saturday also multiplied the prospects of a further rise in interest rates in the upcoming monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for April 4, Geo News reported.

Dhaka, March 29 (IANS) Ambassador of Belgium to Bangladesh, Didier Vanderhasselt, called on Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam at the latter’s office, during which the minister expressed satisfaction over the ever-growing bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.

Alam on Tuesday also recalled with gratitude the Belgium’s recognition of Bangladesh as an independent state in February 1972.

Appreciating Bangladesh’s socio-economic growth, the Ambassador of Belgium touched upon the “very fruitful” visit of Queen Mathilde of the Belgians to Bangladesh in February.

Belgium’s supports in developing agri-business facilities in Bangladesh, particularly in storage, transport, and processing fields.

He also observed that enormous trade and investment opportunities exist between the two countries, particularly in agri-business, renewable energy, port and road transport infrastructure, dredging, logistics, water purification, and other sectors.

Islamabad, April 1 (IANS)

Pakistans monthly inflation blew past forecasts in March and soared to a nearly all-time high level -- 35.4 per cent -- from a year earlier, with people feeling more pain from some of the fastest rising consumer prices amid straining budgets as cost of living continues to outstrip average incomes, according to a media report. The fresh inflation reading

The pace of increase in the prices endorsed the expectations of the Finance Ministry that said inflation was expected to stay at an elevated level owing to market frictions caused by relative demand and supply gap of essential items, exchange rate depreciation, and recent upward adjustment of administered prices of petrol and diesel, the report said.

The monthly inflation rate, however, declined to 3.7 per cent in March over February.

The inflation situation has worsened to its worst, steeping the masses, whose purchasing power has eroded by leaps and bounds, into misery, as the price of almost every edible item has gone through the roof over a period of months.

Core inflation, which was calculated after excluding the volatile energy and food prices, increased in March to 18.6 per cent in urban areas and 23.1 per cent in rural areas. Analysts believe Pakistan is now heading towards hyperinflation a situation when prices are out of control and in the territory of a 50 per cent surge, Geo News reported.

Sri Lanka establishes committee to oversee utilisation of IMF funds

credit facility provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), state media reported on Sunday.

The committee includes Sagala Ratnayaka, chief of staff to the president, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, and a group of experts, according to the Sunday Observer.

Alam thanked the Belgian Ambassador for leading a regional trade mission to Bangladesh to explore business opportunities and sought

The two sides also discussed various other bilateral and international issues of mutual interest, including regular bilateral consultations, trade facilitation measures, consular cooperation, migration and mobility, Bangladesh-EU cooperation, Belgium’s EU Presidency in 2024, and cooperation on elections in different international fora among others.

Pakistan conducts 1st digital nationwide census

Colombo, April 2 (IANS)

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has established a committee to oversee Sri Lanka’s utilisation of the

The committee’s main responsibility is to monitor the IMF process regularly and examine tax policies, including changes in tax percentages and the possibility of increasing direct taxes while decreasing indirect taxes,

Xinhua News Agency reported. Additionally, the committee will ensure that the IMF’s conditions are implemented effectively, state media reported. Upon the president’s instructions, the committee will report to the cabinet once a month on key issues, including ordinances such as the anti-corruption act. The president will make recommendations on the committee’s operation, and its approval will be sought from the cabinet in due course.

Sri Lanka started negotiations with the international lender in 2022 after it was hit by a severe economic crisis.

Islamabad, March 31 (IANS)

Pakistan has enumerated over 170 million people so far since its ongoing first-ever digital population and housing census started late last month.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Thursday that history is in the making as “we continue to reach milestones and exceed targets for Pakistan’s first-ever digital census” which is also the 7th overall census of the South Asian country, reports Xinhua news agency.

Pakistan conducted its sixth census in 2017 and concluded that the country’s population was 207.6 million, growing 2.38 per cent from 1998 to 2017, including over 106 million males and 101 million females, said the Bureau.

According to the PBS, over 121,000 trained census enumerators have been conducting the census across the country by using modern technology.

It said that modern technology would help provide accurate results, which would lead the country to important decisions about the population, leading to equal opportunities for jobs and better utilisation of resources across Pakistan.

The Bureau also urged the public to participate in the census by being responsible citizens to play their role in national development.

Mortar mine blast kills 2 children in Afghanistan

Kabul, April 2 (IANS) Two children were killed as a mortar mine left over from past wars went off in Afghanistan’s eastern Wardak province, provincial police spokesman Yusuf Israr said Sunday. The incident took place when children in Sayedabad district found a mortar mine on Saturday evening and began playing with it. The device suddenly exploded, killing two children of a family, the official told reporters.

This is the third blast of its kind, which has claimed the lives of innocent children in Afghanistan over the past six days, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A similar blast claimed the lives of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province on Tuesday, while another child lost his life and three others were injured as an unexploded mine left over from past wars exploded in southern

Zabul province on Friday. War-torn Afghanistan is reportedly one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, as dozens of people, mostly children, are killed and maimed every month due to the blasts of unexploded devices left over from the past four decades of wars and civil strife.