Page 10 - Pakistan

Take steps to function as a country: IMF tells cash-starved Pakistan

Cash-strapped Pakistan must take steps to ensure that its high earners pay taxes and only the poor get the subsidies if it wants to function as a country, the International Monetary Fund has said, amid looming fears of a default. In an interview with the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Pakistan needs to take strong measures to avoid getting into a "dangerous place" where its debt needs to be restructured. She said the IMF was very clear that it wanted the poor people of Pakistan to be protected, the Dawn newspaper reported, It shouldn't be that the wealthy benefit from subsidies. It should be the poor [who] benefit from them," she said. "What we are asking for are steps Pakistan needs to take to be able to function as a country and not to get into a dangerous place where its debt needs to be restructured, she said. Pakistan was devastated by last year's flash floods

Pakistan's current situation most difficult in last 2 decades, shows report

The current situation in Pakistan is the most difficult faced by the country in the last two decades, reports. Adding that the country, facing an economic crisis, political chaos, and terror attacks

China to become Afghan's second-largest trade partner in 2023 after Pak

China's trade with Afghanistan has been growing fast and it may become the second-largest trading nation with Afghanistan in 2023 after Pakistan, a situation that bodes well for the continuation of the CPEC part of the Belt & Road Initiative into Afghanistan, as per Silk Road Briefing (SRB).Silk Road Briefing provides global and regional intelligence to assist and monitor infrastructure, geopolitical, and structural developments, along with foreign investment opportunities along China's Belt and Road Initiative.According to China customs data, in December 2022, China imported goods worth USD 9.09 million from Afghanistan and exported goods worth USD 59 million, resulting in a positive trade balance for China of USD 49.9 million, the SRB reported.If these figures are projected as the 2023 average, then this would result in a bilateral trade figure of USD 816 million. Pakistan, currently the largest Afghani trade partner, achieved bilateral trade of USD 1.513 billion in 2022, ...

Already defaulted, we're a bankrupt nation: Pakistan defence minister

The minister said that most of his time had been spent in the opposition camp and that he has witnessed politics being disgraced for the past 32 years

Covid-19 pandemic made 1.6 mn youth idle in Pakistan: World Bank report

A study finds that preschool enrolment in Pakistan dropped by over 15 percentage points by end of 2021 in the post-pandemic era, reported The News International

Pakistan's banned terrorist outfit TTP warn of more attacks against police

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has warned of more attacks in Pakistan after storming the Karachi Police chief's office on Friday evening, reported Business Recorder."The policemen should stay away from our war with the slave army, otherwise the attacks on the safe havens of the top police officers will continue," TTP said in an English-language statement on Saturday."We want to warn the security agencies once again to stop martyring innocent prisoners in fake encounters otherwise the intensity of future attacks will be more severe, " it said.The hours-long combat on Friday between terrorists and law-enforcement agencies -- comprising Pak Army Special Service Group (SSG), Pakistan Rangers Sindh & Sindh Police -- at the Karachi Police Office located at Sharea Faisal left four people killed and 19 injured, as per the report in Dawn.All three terrorists belonging to the banned group TTP were killed.Karachi Police office was attacked on Friday at 7:10 pm, while police and Pakistan .

Pak cops identify TTP terrorist involved in Karachi police chief's attack

Heavily-armed Pakistani Taliban militants who carried out an audacious attack on the office of the Karachi Police chief have been identified as residents of two tribal districts in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, police said on Sunday. The incident took place at 7.10 pm local time on Friday, during which Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists stormed the five-storey Karachi Police Office (KPO) building situated in the country's most populous city. The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by its spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani. In the hours-long operation between the Pakistan police commandos and paramilitary soldiers, three TTP terrorists were killed and four others, including three security personnel, also lost their lives. According to police, terrorists Zala Noor and Kifayatullah were identified as residents of north Waziristan and Lakki Marwat districts respectively. Both terrorists conducted compl

Pak: Nationalist parties threaten protest if govt impose digital census

Chandio, who chaired the meeting, told journalists that the digital census was unconstitutional, illegal, and anti-Sindh

Pak's party TLP party gives govt 'ultimatum' to withdraw fuel price hike

I am giving a 72-hour ultimatum to the government to withdraw the increase in the prices of petroleum products immediately: TLP Chief Saad Hussain Rizvi

Pakistan's external debt servicing jumps by 70% in first half of FY23

In the first half of the fiscal year, Pakistan paid USD 10.21 billion in external debt servicing while in the same period of 2021-22, the country paid USD 6 billion

Pakistan Defence Minister acknowledges country has already gone bankrupt

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif suggested that one-fourth of Pakistan's debt could be paid off if only two golf clubs built on expensive government land are sold, media reports said

Pakistan's biggest firms halt operations amid raw material, forex shortage

Pak's $3.19 bn in foreign currency reserves mean that the nation is unable to fund imports, stranding thousands of containers of supplies on its ports and stalling production, putting jobs at risk

Karachi attack: 5 militants, 4 people including rangers, policemen killed

After the long-hour operation, the LEAs cleared the five-story office of the city's police chief

Foreign hand could be behind Karachi attack: Pakistan Interior Minister

At least one police officer has been martyred in the attack while an Edhi volunteer has been injured, Samaa TV reported

Militants storm Karachi police station, killing at least two people

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group, took responsibility for the attack

Gomal University in Pak bans mixed-gender gatherings of students on premise

The university also directed "female students" to be careful and limit themselves in their classrooms and the department's common rooms

Pak hikes petrol price; efforts on to appease IMF for unlocking loan

People in Pakistan woke up on Thursday to the shock of a historic price hike in the prices of petrol and gas as the government tried to appease the IMF for unlocking the critical loan tranche for the cash-strapped country. The petrol bomb as the price hike is termed these days, was dropped around Wednesday midnight, hours after the government unveiled a tax-loaded 'mini-budget' in the Parliament to extract Rs 170 billion from the people through new taxes and increase in electricity and gas prices. The price of petrol was hiked to Rs 272 per litre after an increase of Rs 22.20, a press release from the Finance Division read Wednesday night, noting that the surge has taken place due to the rupee's devaluation against the dollar. The price of the high-speed diesel (HSD) hiked by Rs 17.20, kerosene by Rs 12.90 and light diesel oil (LDO) by Rs 9.68. The new price of HSD will cost Rs 280 per litre. Kerosene will be available at Rs 202.73 whereas LDO will be sold at Rs 196.68 per ...

Pakistan economist Per­vez Tahir urges resumption of trade with India

Pakistan poli­ti­cal economist Per­vez Tahir has called for revival of trade with India to decrease people's woes, local media reported.

US values long-standing cooperation with Pakistan: State Dept official

The United States values its long-standing relationship with Pakistan, a State Department official said on Wednesday but refrained from making any comment on the ongoing domestic politics of the South Asian country. "We value our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan. We've always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to our interests. That very much remains unchanged. Whether it has come to an end or not, we don't let propaganda, misinformation, disinformation get in the way of any bilateral relationship," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. "That, of course, includes our valued bilateral relationship with Pakistan. When it comes to various political players inside of Pakistan, we don't have a position on one political candidate or party versus another. We support, as we do around the world, the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles," Price said. He, however, refrained from making

Pakistan government introduces bill to raise Rs 170 billion in taxes

The cash-strapped Pakistan government on Wednesday introduced a money bill in parliament to raise Rs 170 billion in taxes by June this year as part of conditions by the IMF to get the next tranche of an already agreed loan. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2023, in the National Assembly -- the lower house -- empowered to legislate on money matters. Pakistan and IMF officials held 10 days of marathon talks in Islamabad, from January 31 to February 9, but could not reach a deal as the fund demanded prior actions before signing any agreement to release USD 1.1 billion out of the USD 7 billion deal agreed in 2019. Speaking in the house after introducing the bill, Dar said the government was aware of the hardships of common people and tried its best to not further burden them through new taxes.