Karachi Port has reached another key milestone with arrival of one of the world’s largest container vessels MSC Loreto at the port, showcasing the expansion of Pakistan’s maritime handling capabilities.

The ultra-large container vessel spanning around 399.9 meters in length and carrying 24,346 containers berthed at South Wharf Berth No. 2 of the SAPTL port, sources at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) said.

The vessel arrived carrying 14,538 containers and will dump 3,802 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) to the SAPTL facility during its stay.

The Karachi Port Trust’s spokesperson said the port is now able to safely and efficiently accommodate some of the world’s largest container ships, reflecting advancements in infrastructure and operating capacity.

MSC Loreto would be at the Karachi Port for two days before proceeding to the United Arab Emirates, the official further said.

Pakistan and Italy inked a concessional loan agreement worth €20 million (approximately Rs 6.3 billion) on Monday to back the Professional Capacity Building and Extension in Agriculture project of Pakistan’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) National Reform Programme, aiming to enhance agricultural skills development and vocational education in the country.

The agreement was signed by Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Muhammad Humair Karim and Ambassador of Italy, Marilina Armellin in the presence of senior officials from Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Ministry of National Food Security and Research and provincial departments.

The project was designed to improve the quality and relevance of Pakistan Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system with a special emphasis on the agriculture sector through improved professional skills, better technical certification and promotion of innovation across agricultural value chains.

The effort aimed to develop the ability of farmers, extension workers, trainers and other stakeholders through contemporary, demand-driven training programmes that contributed towards better production, sustainable agricultural practices and improved livelihoods.

The initiative would focus on the development of high-value crops and the enhancement of agro-food value chains. Dedicated training facilities would benefit players in horticulture production, processing and marketing and promote product diversification and value addition.

The project would concentrate on crops such as olives, pistachios, dates, mushrooms, cherries, grapes, peaches and almonds, drawing upon Italian experience in current agronomic approaches and Pakistan’s vast agricultural potential.

The plan would also produce 11 standardized training curricula to assist the delivery of 720 training sessions over a period of 42 months, benefiting an estimated 18,398 participants, including farmers, women, youth and trainers.

The infrastructure investments will include setting up of 12 Model Orchards and Nurseries, 8 Eco-Villages with Climate Resilient Technologies, 5 Agro-Food Processing Units and 2 National Centres of Excellence for Citrus and Date Crops at Sargodha (Punjab) and Turbat (Balochistan).

The project would be implemented by Pakistan Oilseed Department in coordination with Provincial Agriculture Departments and it was expected to generate rural employment, increase producer incomes, reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen farmer cooperatives and enhance the competitiveness of Pakistan’s agriculture sector.

The signing of this agreement was a reflection of the strong and long-standing development partnership between Pakistan and Italy and underscored their shared commitment towards the promotion of sustainable agricultural development, skills enhancement and inclusive economic growth through strengthened bilateral cooperation.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced a revised timeline for the delimitation of union councils in Punjab.

As per the timetable, the complaints on delimitation can be submitted till July 4 while the results on the objections on limits of union councils would be announced by July 29.

The last deadline for notifying the Punjab union council delimitation committees about the decisions has been fixed for August 7.

The timetable further mentioned that the final list of Punjab union council delimitations will be released on August 17.

The definitive timetable of elections for local government in Punjab will be announced after the completion of the process of delimitation.

BACKGROUND

Local government polls in Punjab have been deferred several times since 2019. The erstwhile Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provincial government disbanded the local government entities in April that year. The Supreme Court later reversed the order and restored the elected bodies. They then served out their constitutional term on 31 December 2021.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is obligated by Article 140-A of the Constitution and Section 219(4) of the Elections Act to hold local government elections within 120 days of the expiry of the term of local councils. Therefore, the polls should have been held by the end of April 2022.

However, the Punjab administration delayed the polls by making a number of revisions to the province’s local government statute and the voting process was delayed repeatedly.

ECP announces local government elections in December 2025 on October 8, 2025 The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked the Punjab administration to immediately start the process of delimitation of constituencies with orders to complete the procedure within two months.

The revision was made within less than two weeks of the Punjab government’s passing of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2025. Following the passage of the new law, the ECP withdrew the delimitation schedule prepared under the 2022 law and directed the province administration to prepare fresh delimitation and demarcation guidelines within four weeks.

Later, on October 31, 2025, the ECP said local government elections in Punjab could not be held before the second quarter of 2026, as there were no legal and administrative prerequisites to conduct the polls.