Overview
- A high-level government committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar completed a review of port operations and directed reforms to raise efficiency and competitiveness, following a meeting on Saturday.
- The Secretary for Maritime Affairs gave a detailed briefing on port capacity and utilisation that framed discussions about streamlining customs, cargo handling and logistics processes.
- Ministers, the Director General of the National Logistics Corporation and the Karachi Port Authority chairman attended the meeting and were asked to strengthen coordination between maritime, law and logistics agencies to speed reforms.
- Dar separately met Pakistan’s High Commissioner-designate to the UK, Tipu Usman Chaudhry, and instructed him to prioritise deeper bilateral economic ties and proactive consular services for the large Pakistani diaspora in Britain.
- Officials say the measures aim to position Pakistani ports as efficient regional trade gateways, which could cut trade delays, lower costs for importers and exporters, and attract more transshipment business to Karachi and other ports.