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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has called for modernizing the country’s port infrastructure and streamlining the processes to bolster Pakistan’s competitiveness in regional and global trade, state media reported on Tuesday.

Dar said this at a meeting he presided over in Islamabad to review operations at Pakistani ports and proposals to enhance efficiency, reduce turnaround times and ensure smooth cargo handling.

Pakistan is currently making efforts to capitalize on its geostrategic location to boost trade and investment alongside tourism as it slowly recovers from a macroeconomic crisis under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

“The meeting covered measures to address port congestion, strengthen trade facilitation, and improve logistics systems to support imports, exports and overall economic activity,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.

Officials say the South Asian country plans to cut container dwell time at its seaports by up to 70 percent to improve trade competitiveness and ease congestion. Islamabad last month reduced port charges for exporters by 50 percent at the second largest Port Qasim.

Earlier this month, Pakistan granted its first-ever ferry service license to an international operator, Sea Keepers, for routes connecting Pakistan with Iran and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the Pakistani maritime affairs ministry said on Monday.

Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry hailed the move as a “historic step,” aligned with Pakistan’s National Maritime Policy, and emphasized the opportunity this license creates for boosting regional connectivity, religious tourism and economic activity via sea routes.

“Initial operations will commence from the ports of Karachi and Gwadar using modern ferry vessels equipped with essential amenities to ensure safe, affordable travel,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying by his ministry.
It did not specify a date for the start of operations.

KARACHI: A large number of Pakistani journalists gathered outside the press club in the southern city of Karachi on Tuesday to protest the killing of five Palestinian journalists, including Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, in an Israeli strike on Gaza.

The demonstration came amid outrage over what journalist unions have called a targeted campaign against the press in the conflict-ridden Palestinian territory, where at least 269 journalists have been killed by Israel since Oct. 2023.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, around half of them women and children, with media workers reporting from the territory despite shortages of food, power and safety equipment amid Israeli blockades.

Speaking at the demonstration, Nasrullah Chaudhry, president of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), called the recent killing of journalists in Gaza a “massacre,” hailing Palestinian journalists for their courage and professional commitment.

“We pay tribute to the Palestinian journalists who brought truth to the world,” he said, adding that the Palestinian journalists were standing firm “in the face of historic oppression and hunger.”

Veteran Pakistani journalist Mazhar Abbas told Arab News the protest was not only about the deaths of Al Jazeera reporters, but part of a broader condemnation of Israel’s targeting of journalists in Gaza.

He said reporters in Gaza were being “particularly targeted,” not caught in crossfire, and the intent was to stop them from covering Israel’s war.

“They are targeting them to stop them from reporting,” Abbas said, adding that many journalists could not even report now “because of the lack of food.”

He described the scale of journalist deaths in Gaza as “unprecedented,” adding that such a large number of journalists had not been killed in any war or conflict.

“It is a genocide,” Abbas said, urging Pakistan’s parliament and the international community to raise their voice against Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Sohail Afzal Khan, the Karachi Press Club secretary, condemned what he called “Israel’s barbarism” and said all media organizations in Pakistan were participating in the protest to expose Israel’s brutality.

Amir Latif, assistant secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), said the killing of Al-Sharif and his colleagues was a continuation of Israel’s policy of targeting media personnel.

“They are telling the truth to the world and Israel wants to hide the truth,” he said, criticizing the world for its silence and failure to act against Israeli attacks on journalists.

The protesting journalists called on international media bodies and rights organizations to pressure Israel to stop targeting the press and allow independent coverage of the conflict. They also urged the Pakistani government to raise the issue at the United Nations and other forums.

G.M. Jamali, a former PFUJ president, said Pakistani journalists should go a step further and write letters to world leaders demanding that Israel be declared a “terrorist state.”

“If journalists from Pakistan send letters across the world,” he said, “then at the very least, the image of Pakistani journalists will be seen positively that we made an effort.”