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High prices and poor marketing of Ceylon Tea drove Pakistan to Kenyan imports – High Commissioner

Published

5 years ago

2021/07/18

By Steve A. Morrell

Pakistan had to turn to Kenya for its tea imports because Ceylon Tea was too highly priced and marketing was poor, High Commissioner Maj. Gen. (Retd) Muhammad Saad Khattak said.

“You have to blame your marketing people for the poor show”, the envoy said in reply to a question from a journalist at last week’s news conference at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo.

He said that Pakistan imported 10,000 metric tons tea annually and Ceylon Tea comprised a negligible 1.6 percent of total imports.

“We now depend more on Kenyan tea as the Pakistani people were literally weaned away from Ceylon Tea due to exorbitant pricing coupled with a poor marketing strategy”.

The High Commissioner said that marketing Ceylon Tea to Pakistan’s retail trade took a back seat and the end result was that Kenya made headway to capture the market with fair pricing and vigorous marketing.

“Since my young days, most people in Pakistan knew only of Ceylon Tea, which was the preferred beverage. The alternative still could be Ceylon Tea if the beverage can regain its prestige through vibrant marketing”, the High Commissioner stressed.

Elaborating on the friendly relations that exist between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, he said the close ties were further cemented by the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Sri Lanka.

Referring to the visit of a delegation of Buddhist monks to Pakistan, Khattak said it was a clear indication that his country reached out to all segments in Sri Lanka to develop mutual interests.

The envoy announced that a business delegation from Pakistan is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka shortly for an in-depth discussion on mutual areas of economic collaboration for cooperation between both countries for trade.

On tourism, he said Pakistan had diverse attractions to offer visitors, including snow-capped mountains, mind boggling topography, geographical land variety and an extensive expanse of beaches.

He said Pakistan could offer a wide cross section of trade and visitor attractions exclusive to tourists.

In the field of medicine, he said Pakistan would award 1,000 scholarships to Sri Lankan students. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, he said Pakistan adhered to the UN resolution as the basis for settlement.

He didn’t comment on a possible time frame to end the dispute.

“There’s nothing called a free lunch, but an agreement of mutual advantage was necessary to seek amicable realization for stabilization of the area in dispute”, the envoy pointed out.

He declined to comment on the aspect of Chinese influences that was raised by some journalists.

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Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

21 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

21 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

21 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.