Page 17 - Pakistan

90% pledges by international community in form of 'loans': Pak minister

Pak's finance minister said that almost 90 per cent of pledges made by the international community for the flood-hit country were project loans that will be rolled out over the next three years

Originating from Pak, deadly shipment of uranium seized at Heathrow airport

Counter-terror cops and security services in the UK have launched a probe after a deadly shipment of uranium was seized at London's Heathrow airport, a media outlet reported

World Bank slashes Pakistan GDP growth projection to 2% as crisis worsens

Pakistan's economic condition is precarious with low foreign exchange reserves and large fiscal and current account deficits, has further worsened by severe flooding

Mickey Arthur rejects offer to return as Pakistan national team coach

Mickey Arthur has spurned an offer from the PCB to return as the head coach of the national team, forcing the board to continue its search to find a replacement for incumbent Saqlain Mushtaq. The Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday said it was in discussions with Arthur for a new stint as head coach but the South African won't be able to take up the role right away as he has a long-term contract with Derbyshire. "Owing to his long-term contract with Derbyshire, we have also discussed a proposal to act as a consultant to the PCB on a time-sharing basis with Derbyshire," PCB said in a statement. "Unfortunately, however, this option is proving difficult to materialise for various reasons on both sides. "Under the circumstances, the PCB will continue its search for the right person to fit the slot of the national team head coach and some top names are already under consideration." A highly well-placed source in the board told PTI that Arthur is not coming because of the unreliable ...

4 mn children living near contaminated floodwater in Pakistan: UNICEF

"Severe acute malnutrition, respiratory and waterborne diseases, coupled with the cold, are putting millions of young lives at risk"

Contempt case: Pak election body issues arrest warrants against Imran Khan

Pakistan's top election body on Tuesday issued bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Imran Khan and other top leaders of his party in a contempt case. The case is based on statements issued by top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja. A four-member ECP bench headed by Nisar Durrani issued warrants against Khan and his close aides - Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar. The election watchdog had issued notices against them in August and September last year in the exercise of its powers of contempt after the PTI leaders repeatedly bashed the commission and Raja over what they claim is their partisan policy and their alleged favouring of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). At the previous hearing, the ECP had given the PTI leaders a last chance to appear before it. During the hearing on Tuesday, the commission rejected the pleas for their exemption from appearance and issued arre

$9 bn pledged in support of Pak's flood recovery efforts: Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that more than $9 billion were pledged in support of Pakistans recovery efforts from the worst ever floods that hit the country last year

7 mn people laid off in Pakistan textile industry amid dwindling exports

Representatives of the value-added textile associations said the current government does not have any policy to end the various crises affecting textile producers and exporters

Pakistan flour crisis worsens; prices skyrocket amidst wheat shortage

Balochistan's Minister for Food has said that the wheat stock in the province had "completely ended"

US announces $100 mn aid for Pakistan's flood recovery, reconstruction

The United States has announced an additional USD 100 million to Pakistan for its recovery and reconstruction efforts after the devastating floods last year that killed 1,739 and affected 33 million people. The funding also includes humanitarian assistance to support flood relief and recovery efforts in refugee hosting areas, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at a news conference here on Monday. "I am pleased to share that today the United States announced an additional USD 100 million of recovery and reconstruction funding, bringing our total contribution to over USD200 million," he said. The new USD 100 million in funding will be for flood protection and governance, disease surveillance, economic growth, and clean energy, climate smart agriculture, food security, and infrastructure reconstruction, Price said. The United States' flood-related assistance complements its broader efforts to form a US-Pakistan green alliance that looks at the range of climate and

Qatar announces $25 mn aid to help Pakistan deal with flood crisis

"It was sad to see the scale of this devastating disaster, the loss of lives, and the painful scenes of destruction caused by the floods in Pakistan," said Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affair

Iran, Pakistan call for setting up joint military task force: Report

Noting the good relations between the armed forces of the two countries and the development of defence and security cooperation especially on the common borders

PM Sharif leaves for Geneva to attend Pak-UN conference to raise $16 bn

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday left for Geneva to co-host a key conference in Geneva Monday along with the UN Secretary-General to raise more than USD 16 billion for a resilient recovery of his country from last year's climate-induced catastrophic floods. More than 33 million were displaced and over 1,700 were killed in the devastating floods that hit the country last summer due to unprecedented monsoon rains. According to an official statement, the Prime Minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation, comprising Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Climatic Change Minister Sherry Rehman and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. Before embarking on the visit, Sharif in a series of tweets said that he would present the case of flood victims before the world. We will place comprehensive post-disaster framework plan for recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction with resilience before development partners and friendly countrie

BSF deploys drone-mounted radars to check tunnels along Pak border

Drone-mounted ground penetration radars have been deployed for the first time by the Border Security Force (BSF) to check for the presence of under-ground tunnels used by terrorists to infiltrate the India-Pakistan International Border in Jammu region, officials said. The indigenously-made technical gadget has been pressed into action at this front recently as part of the below-the-earth tunnel detection exercise carried out by the force to ensure no terrorist is able to sneak into Indian territory and conduct strikes in Jammu and Kashmir or any other location of the country. These structures have also been used to smuggle narcotics, arms and ammunition. The BSF has unearthed at least five under-ground tunnels in the about 192 km of the Jammu front (of the India-Pakistan IB) in the last three years. According to official data, two such cross-border tunnels were detected in 2020 and 2021 each, while one was found last year and all of them were detected in the Indreshwar Nagar sector

Pak needs $30 bn to cover short and long-term needs of flood victims: PM

Pakistan needs about USD 30 billion to cover the short and long-term needs of the victims of last year's floods that claimed about 1,700 lives, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said, as he sought the international's community's support ahead of a key donors conference. More than 33 million were affected due to massive floods hitting the country last summer, leaving many at the mercy of international donors. Sharif's comments came as he sought the support of the global community ahead of an international conference being jointly hosted by Pakistan and the UN in Geneva on Monday. Sharif in an article in The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, wrote that a comprehensive roadmap for post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation, to be presented at the conference, has been developed with the assistance of the World Bank, the UN, the Asian Development Bank and the European Union. He said the roadmap essentially envisages a two-pronged response to deal with the ravages of the flood. The

Thousands protest against rising terrorism in northwest Pakistan

Thousands of tribesmen in Pakistan's northwest took to the streets to protest against rising incidents of terrorism and kidnapping in the country's tribal districts bordering Afghanistan while demanding immediate restoration of peace in the region. Over 5,000 tribesmen took out a rally on Friday in Wana, the headquarters of the South Waziristan tribal district, against the growing unrest, terrorism, and kidnappings in their areas. The protest comes amidst rising terrorist attacks in the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces that are believed to have been carried out by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group based in Afghanistan. Pushtoon nationalist and leader of Pushtoon Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) Manzoor Pushteen addressed the protesters carrying placards and banners. The protesters demanded the restoration of peace and harmony in the tribal districts. All the shops and markets were closed in Wana bazaar as a protest against the surge in unr

BSF arrests Bangladesh national near Pakistan border in Punjab's Amritsar

Border Security Force troops have arrested a Bangladesh national in Punjab's Amritsar district, who "inadvertently" reached near the border but nothing objectionable was recovered from his possession

Pakistan's forex reserves fall by $245 mn due to 'external debt repayment'

Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks came at $5.84 billion, the central bank said

Pak PM holds talks with IMF chief to break deadlock over next aid tranche

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made a telephonic call to International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva to break the deadlock over the release of the next tranche of assistance for cash-strapped Pakistan, according to a media report on Friday. The contact was made four days before an expected face-to-face meeting between the prime minister and the IMF head on the sidelines of the Geneva Conference for flood victims. There was no official word about the contact but sources told The Express Tribune that the prime minister urged the IMF managing director to review the condition for the imposition of new taxes. He also sought relaxation in the demand to increase electricity prices to compensate for the deviation of around Rs 500 billion from the annual circular debt management plan. These remain the major stumbling blocks in reaching an initial understanding of a staff-level visit by the IMF to Pakistan. "However, the government stood ready to impose flood levy and windfall

US provided nearly $60 mn to Pakistan for humanitarian assistance in 2022

The United States provided about USD 60 million in humanitarian assistance for Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Pakistani host communities during 2022, the US ambassador said on Thursday. "In Fiscal Year 2022 alone, the US provided nearly USD 60 million (more than PakRs 13 billion) in assistance to the refugees and their host communities, the US embassy here said in a statement, quoting ambassador Donald Blome. He also said that the United States has provided more than USD 273 million (nearly PakRs 62 billion) since 2002 for the Afghan refugees and thanked Pakistan for "generously hosting Afghan refugees for more than four decades." This US assistance is increasing school enrolment for Afghan and Pakistani children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan; improving Pakistani healthcare services and boosting nutrition programs in areas hosting Afghans; promoting livelihood activities for refugees and host communities; improving water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure; and supporti