Govt urged to allow import of vegetables from Afghanistan

PESHAWAR: The All Pakistan Agricultural Produce Traders Federation has asked the government to allow import of fruit and vegetables from Afghanistan, particularly onions and tomatoes.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, president of the federation Malik Muhammad Ali said the government had announced round the clock opening of Torkham border but the decision was yet to be materialized.

He said the border was opened only for 12 hours daily wherein 60 vehicles loaded with export goods and 200 trucks of Afghan Transit Trade were allowed.

Malik Muhammad Ali said if the imports were not allowed immediately then the price of tomatoes and onions would rise in our local market.

He said that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan was at the lowest level as many businesses had shifted to Iran borders, saying that government was least bothered to take steps to increase the trade volume with Afghanistan.

Malik Muhammad Ali said the trucks loaded with perishable items were not allowed to cross into Afghanistan as per government’s announcement and every vehicle had to wait for at least for four days at the border and the traders had to face huge financial losses.

He urged the government to implement its decision to keep the border open round the clock and control the prices of vegetables and fruit.

Malik Muhammad Ali said that a delegation of the federation would soon hold a meeting with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and other relevant officials to convey their reservations to them.

UoP ranks 9th among Pakistani universities

Placed at 381st position among the top 500 best universities in Asia, the University of Peshawar stands 9th among Pakistani universities in the ranking.

The top 10 Pakistani universities, which made it to the list of 500 best institutions in Asia, include Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad at number 75, National University of Science at Technology (NUST) at 276 and Punjab University at 281. The ranking of top 500 Asian universities was issued by Times Higher Education.

“On industrial revenue, the University of Peshawar is on a par with other varsities of the country, while about academics and teaching, it is leading the other institutions,” said a spokesman for the university.

University of Chitral herbarium registered with NYBG

A herbarium of the Department of Botany, University of Chitral, has been registered with the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), a world-renowned institution in the field of research in botany.

A press release says that now the research carried out in the herbarium of University of Chitral will be acknowledged worldwide by the research community and institutions and the findings of such a research will automatically become part of global research in the relevant field.

The press release adds that the Project Director of the University Dr Badshah Munir Bukhari lauded the efforts of the Botany Department generally and specifically he praised the constant efforts of Hafiz Ullah, lecturer in the Department. The release said the herbarium of the university can be accessed through the website of NYBG through at: http: //sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/herbarium-details/?irn=258595