Business
Agreement on freight corridor revised | The Express Tribune
ISLAMABAD:
The government has revised a draft commercial agreement on the dedicated freight corridor that gives Pakistan Railways the right to buy back assets.
Sources told The Express Tribune that a meeting of different stakeholders, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, decided that the Railways Division would limit the timeframe for signing a phase-II commercial agreement. It was agreed that the phase-I commercial agreement would be revised by adding an exit clause whereby Pakistan Railways would have the right to buy back the concessionaire’s assets at the net book value and the stakeholders involved would initiate negotiations within 12 months of the commercial operation date (COD) for phase-II.
It was also decided to conclude negotiations within 45 days to finalise and sign the commercial agreement for phase-II. In case the negotiations remain unsuccessful, both parties will have the right to terminate the commercial agreement and Pakistan Railways will enjoy the right to buy back the concessionaire’s assets at the net book value.
The Ministry of Railways informed the meeting that the exit clause had been examined by a negotiation committee, which met on May 25, 2025. Committee members unanimously agreed on the exit clause, which was incorporated into the draft commercial agreement. It was also highlighted that the Ministry of Law and Justice had vetted the revised draft commercial agreement.
The Ministry of Railways apprised the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT) that the government of Pakistan, represented by the Ministry of Railways, and the government of Dubai, represented by Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, had signed on January 17, 2024 the Inter-Governmental Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Railways Sector for investment and construction of a dedicated freight corridor including social logistics parks and rail freight terminals on the Pakistan Railways network.
It was recalled that the CCoIGCT had approved the constitution of a negotiation committee to deliberate on the draft commercial agreement along with variables and parameters for the price discovery mechanism during its meeting held on February 1, 2024. The decision of the CCoIGCT was ratified by the cabinet on February 5, 2024.
Furthermore, in a sitting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), held on October 28, 2024 and attended, amongst others, by DP World (a Dubai-nominated entity) and Pakistan Railways (a Pakistan-nominated entity), it was decided that the project would be executed in two phases. Therefore, as informed by the Ministry of Railways, the draft commercial agreement was based on phase-I of the project.
The railways ministry told the CCoIGCT that the negotiation committee had made recommendations for the commercial agreement, as negotiated between the parties, which may be approved by the CCoIGCT and exemptions from procurement and competition laws may be granted in accordance with Section 5 of the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act, 2022.
CCoIGCT was requested to approve the revised draft commercial agreement along with recommendations of the negotiation committee, as recorded in para-6 of the summary, to enable the Ministry of Railways to proceed further under the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act. During discussions, the railways ministry apprised the forum of compliance with the CCoIGCT decisions taken in July 2025, under which the ministry had been directed to explore domestic resources for the project and limit the timeframe for signing the commercial agreement for phase-II.
The ministry said that after extensive consultations with the stakeholders, a revised commercial agreement on the dedicated freight corridor had been drafted by incorporating the CCoIGCT’s directives. The forum appreciated the efforts made by the ministry in compliance with its directives and approved the proposals contained in para-6 of the summary. The CCoIGCT considered the summary titled “Approval of Modified Draft Commercial Agreement on Dedicated Freight Corridor” and gave the green-light to the proposals.
Two ads promoting British beef and milk have been banned after television presenter and environmental campaigner Chris Packham complained that they misled consumers about the products’ carbon footprints.
Both ads for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) Let’s Eat Balanced campaign used the carbon footprint of British beef and milk to promote the products, firstly stating: “British beef not only tastes great, but has a carbon footprint that’s half the global average*.”
The asterisk linked to text that stated: “Full lifecycle emissions of CO2 eq (carbon dioxide equivalent) per kg of beef.”
The ad for milk stated: “British milk not only tastes good, but is also produced to world-class standards, and has a carbon footprint a third lower than the global average.”
Packham complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ads, and specifically the carbon footprint claims, were misleading as they did not reflect the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy.
The AHDB said the ads’ mention of carbon emissions would be understood in relation to the environmental impact of beef and milk that occurred between the “cradle-to-retail” stages.
But the ASA said the average consumer “being reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect” would understand the claims to apply beyond the retail stage and include actions such as cooking and wastage.
The ASA said: “While we acknowledged the potential difficulties in producing post-retail emissions data, the claims in the ads suggested those emissions were included and we therefore expected the evidence provided to also include them.
“We therefore concluded that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the full life-cycle claims in the ads, which was how the average consumer was likely to interpret them.
“We reminded AHDB that environmental claims should be based on the full life cycle unless the ad stated otherwise.”
AHDB’s director of communications and market development, Will Jackson, said: “Let’s Eat Balanced is doing what it was designed to do, providing clear, factual, evidence-led information about British food, nutrition and farming standards.
“Since the investigation began, we have conducted independent consumer research which found that the majority of respondents interpreted these adverts as relating to the production phase only, from farm to retail.
“This research provides important insight into consumer understanding and supports our belief that consumers were not misled by the information we shared in these two specific adverts.”
BENGALURU: India’s Gen Z workforce is embracing what experts describe as “portfolio careers” – balancing multiple professional identities and income streams simultaneously. New research from LinkedIn shows that 75% of Gen Z entrepreneurs in India now manage multiple income streams, significantly higher than the 62% among Gen X entrepreneurs. The findings point to a growing preference among younger professionals for flexibility, autonomy and diversified sources of income. “We’re also seeing the rise of the ‘portfolio era’, with more professionals creating multiple income streams and redefining what a career can look like. This shift is making entrepreneurship more accessible than ever before,” said LinkedIn India country manager Kumaresh Pattabiraman.Rather than depending on a single full-time role, many professionals are simultaneously building businesses, freelancing, consulting, creating online content and monetising specialised skills through digital platforms. The trend comes amid a broader rise in entrepreneurial activity in India. LinkedIn recorded a 104% year-on-year increase in members adding “Founder” to their profiles – the highest growth among all global markets.AI is also emerging as a major enabler of this shift. The report found that 85% of Gen Z entrepreneurs consider AI and digital tools important to their business operations.
Sam Altman said Elon Musk tried many times for total control of OpenAI, which he’s now suing.
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