Pakistan Affairs

Tag: Pakistan

  • Pakistan denies salary-stop reports amid cash crunch – Times of India

    Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif\’s government on Tuesday warned of taking action against the payment of salaries and allowances, saying that reports regarding this matter have been \”completely wrong\” as it has caused fresh concerns about financial crunch in the country. The Pakistani state-run newspaper Dawn reported on Tuesday that the Finance Ministry has told the officials to \”immediately suspend all federal and related departments and agencies salaries till further orders.\” It further stated that the payment of allowances was also suspended, and \”the review of the allowances will be made later,\” the report said. The report also claimed that \”high-level instructions\” had been issued regarding \”the reduction of the expenses of the federal government\” and that \”the financial crisis has been caused due to the long-term financial problems of the country.\” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar tweeted that \”fake news\” are being circulated to \”damage the national economic interests.\” He urged to \”refrain from such news and rumors.\” The Ministry said that \”this is wrong because no such instructions have been issued,\” the report said. The Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues has confirmed that the payment of salaries and allowances is being made on time, the Ministry added.



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  • Imf: IMF to Pakistan: Function like a country, make the rich pay taxes & poor get subsidies – Times of India

    Pakistan is taking steps to ensure the stability of its currency, the Pakistani Rupee, by reducing its payments. Taxes and subsidies should be provided to the poor. According to IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva, Pakistan needs to take strong measures to avoid a \”dangerous situation\”, where the regulation of its debts is necessary. She stated that the IMF is clear that it wants to protect the poor of Pakistan, not those who would benefit from the subsidies. \”We must ensure that the poor benefit, not the rich,\” she said. In addition, the number one priority is to increase the income of the taxpayers. The government should not only focus on taxes, but also on subsidies for the poor. Finally, it is important that Pakistan works as one nation, in order to achieve success. Therefore, the government should take measures to ensure the stability of its currency and provide subsidies to the poor.



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  • Pakistan govt halts clearance of bills, salaries amidst economic crisis: Report – Times of India

    اسلام آباد: نقدی کی کمی پاکستان ہفتہ کو ایک میڈیا رپورٹ کے مطابق، حکومت نے اکاؤنٹنٹ جنرل کو ہدایت کی ہے کہ وہ موجودہ معاشی بحران کی وجہ سے تنخواہوں سمیت بلوں کی ادائیگی بند کر دیں۔ دی نیوز انٹرنیشنل نے سرکاری ذرائع کے حوالے سے بتایا کہ وزارت خزانہ اور محصولات نے اکائونٹنٹ جنرل آف پاکستان ریونیو (AGPR) کو وفاقی وزارتوں/ ڈویژنوں اور منسلک محکموں کے تمام بلوں کی کلیئرنگ کو اگلے نوٹس تک روکنے کی ہدایت بھی کی ہے۔ اخبار نے رپورٹ کیا کہ آپریشنل لاگت سے متعلق ریلیز کو مشکلات کا سامنا کرنا پڑا بنیادی طور پر ملک کو درپیش معاشی مشکلات کی وجہ سے۔ پاکستان کے زرمبادلہ کے ذخائر، جو چند ہفتے قبل 2.9 بلین امریکی ڈالر کی انتہائی کم سطح پر گر گئے تھے، اب بڑھ کر 4 بلین امریکی ڈالر کے قریب پہنچ چکے ہیں، یہاں تک کہ ملک بین الاقوامی مالیاتی فنڈ (آئی ایم ایف) سے 1.1 بلین ڈالر کی فنڈنگ ​​کا بے صبری سے انتظار کر رہا ہے۔ آئی ایم ایف)۔ وزیر خزانہ اسحاق ڈار، جن سے اخبار کے تبصرے کے لیے رابطہ کیا گیا، نے کہا کہ یہ غلط ہو سکتا ہے لیکن تصدیق کے بعد واپس آنے کا وعدہ کیا۔ ذرائع کا کہنا ہے کہ وہ اپنے بقایا بلوں کی منظوری کے لیے اے جی پی آر کے دفتر گئے لیکن انہیں بتایا گیا کہ وزارت خزانہ نے انہیں موجودہ مشکل مالی پوزیشن کی وجہ سے تنخواہوں سمیت تمام بلوں کو کلیئر کرنے سے روکنے کی ہدایت کی ہے۔ بلوں کی منظوری فوری بنیادوں پر کیوں روکی گئی اس کی صحیح وجوہات کا پتہ نہیں چل سکا۔ ذرائع نے بتایا کہ دفاع سے متعلقہ اداروں کی تنخواہیں اور پنشن اگلے ماہ کے لیے پہلے ہی کلیئر کر دی گئی ہیں۔ وزیر خزانہ ڈار نے 22 فروری کو Rothschild and Co کے ایک وفد سے ملاقات کرتے ہوئے کہا تھا کہ \”حکومت معیشت کو استحکام اور ترقی کی طرف لے جا رہی ہے\”۔ انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ \”حکومت آئی ایم ایف پروگرام کو مکمل کرنے اور تمام بین الاقوامی ذمہ داریوں کو پورا کرنے کے لیے پرعزم ہے\”۔ آئی ایم ایف کی قسط کو کھولنے کے لیے ڈار کی وابستگی 20 فروری کو اس وقت نظر آئی جب قومی اسمبلی نے متفقہ طور پر فنانس (ضمنی) بل 2023 یا \”منی بجٹ\” کی منظوری دی تھی – یہ اقدام فنڈنگ ​​کے حصول کے لیے لازمی ہے۔ یہ بل کاروں اور گھریلو آلات سے لے کر چاکلیٹ اور کاسمیٹکس تک کی درآمدات پر سیلز ٹیکس کو 17 سے بڑھا کر 25 فیصد کر دیتا ہے۔ جنرل سیلز ٹیکس 17 سے بڑھا کر 18 فیصد کر دیا گیا۔ وزیر نے پارلیمنٹ کے ایوان زیریں کو بتایا کہ بل کی منظوری کے بعد وزیر اعظم آئندہ چند دنوں میں کفایت شعاری کے اقدامات کی بھی نقاب کشائی کریں گے، انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ \”ہمیں مشکل فیصلے کرنے ہوں گے\”۔ جمعہ کو سرکاری اعداد و شمار کے مطابق ملک کی ہفتہ وار افراط زر 23 فروری کو ختم ہونے والے سات دنوں کی مدت کے دوران 2.78 فیصد ہفتہ وار اور 41.54 فیصد سال بہ سال پر سختی سے بلند رہی۔ یہ اس وقت سامنے آیا ہے جب حکومت پاکستان نے توسیعی فنڈ سہولت کے تحت 6.5 بلین امریکی ڈالر کے بیل آؤٹ پیکج میں سے 1.1 بلین ڈالر کی قسطوں کے لیے آئی ایم ایف کی منظوری حاصل کرنے کے لیے گیس چارجز کو 147.57 روپے سے بڑھا کر 295 روپے کر دیا ہے۔ تجزیہ کاروں نے گزشتہ ہفتے کہا تھا کہ مہنگائی کے دباؤ میں شدت آئے گی کیونکہ حکومت نے ٹیکس کے اقدامات کیے اور آئی ایم ایف پروگرام کو غیر مقفل کرنے کے لیے بجلی، پیٹرولیم اور گیس کی قیمتوں میں ایڈجسٹمنٹ کی۔ اشیائے ضروریہ بالخصوص کھانے پینے کی اشیاء کی بڑھتی ہوئی قیمتوں کے بوجھ تلے صارفین پریشان ہیں۔

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  • IMF flags debt restructuring hurdles for distressed economies

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently working on a plan to regulate cryptocurrencies and has recommended against granting them legal tender status. This comes as India, the current G20 president, is pushing for debt restructuring for its South Asian neighbours and for cryptocurrency regulation. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that while there is still some disagreement over debt restructuring, there is a commitment to bridge the differences for the benefit of countries. On the issue of regulating cryptocurrencies, Georgieva said that there should be a strong push for regulation and that banning these assets should not be taken off the table as they may create financial stability risk. The IMF is currently working on a plan to regulate cryptocurrencies and is expected to present it in the upcoming G20 meeting.



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  • Imf: Pakistan will unwillingly accept IMF terms: PM – Times of India

    On Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to security officials in Islamabad and said that the country has to accept the strict conditions of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to provide a lifeline for its economy in turmoil. The deal is still a week or 10 days away, and the IMF has been negotiating with Islamabad since February over policy framework issues. Once the agreement is signed, the IMF will disburse an over $1 billion tranche from the $6.5 billion bailout agreed in 2019.

    To generate revenue to bridge the fiscal deficit, Pakistan has taken a string of measures, such as adopting a market-based exchange rate, hiking fuel and power tariffs, withdrawing subsidies, and more taxation. The IMF is still negotiating with Islamabad over power sector debt, as well as a potential rise in the policy rate, which stands at 17%. The strict measures are likely to further cool the economy and stoke inflation. Currently, the country\’s foreign exchange reserves are at a low $3 billion, barely enough for three weeks\’ worth of imports.



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  • Pakistan austerity drive strips ministers, staff of pay, perks – Times of India

    On Wednesday, the cash-strapped Pakistan government announced new austerity measures in order to secure a staff-level agreement with the IMF for the release of $1.2 billion in aid. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his federal ministerial colleagues, advisers and special assistants have agreed to forego their salaries and generous perks. Furthermore, government support staff will no longer be allowed to go on state visits and cabinet members and officers will not stay in five-star hotels during foreign trips. The government will also sell off all government residences in city centres and no officer will be allotted more than one plot. Additionally, data pertaining to the Toshakhana (state depository) and the gifts received to date will be made public on the website. Any minister, including the PM, will not be allowed to retain gifts valued above $300. The cabinet also decided that until June 2024, there will be a complete ban on purchase of luxury items and all types of new cars. Minister for climate change, Sherry Rehman, stated that these measures are only “optics” and that the size of the cabinet must go down. Prime Minister Sharif acknowledged that the measures of entrenchment and simplicity will not reduce the burden of inflation, but they will reduce the resentment “that is accumulated in the people because of what has been happening for the past 75 years”.

    Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his federal ministerial colleagues have agreed to forego their salaries and generous perks in an effort to secure a staff-level agreement with the IMF for the release of $1.2 billion in aid. As part of the austerity measures, government support staff will no longer be allowed to go on state visits and cabinet members and officers will not stay in five-star hotels during foreign trips. Additionally, all government residences in city centres will be sold off and no officer will be allotted more than one plot. Until June 2024, there will be a complete ban on purchase of luxury items and all types of new cars. Furthermore, data pertaining to the Toshakhana (state depository) and the gifts received to date will be made public on the website and any minister, including the PM, will not be allowed to retain gifts valued above $300. Minister for climate change, Sherry Rehman, said that these measures are only “optics” and that the size of the cabinet must go down. Prime Minister Sharif believes that while these measures of entrenchment and simplicity will not reduce the burden of inflation, they will reduce the resentment “that is accumulated in the people because of what has been happening for the past 75 years”.



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  • If Pakistan has to rise like an \’economic tiger\’, lawmakers must rise above personal likes and dislikes: PM Sharif – Times of India

    At a high-level National Apex Committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he urged lawmakers to rise above personal likes and dislikes for the country to rise like an \”economic tiger\”. The meeting was attended by several prominent members from the political and military establishment.

    The Prime Minister criticised Imran Khan\’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for not attending the meeting held last month. He also called for a resolution through dialogue and not through the streets. This Apex Committee meeting was held in response to the Peshawar incident on January 30th, where a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200.

    The National Action Plan (NAP) was devised by the then governors of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in response to the Army Public School attack in Peshawar in 2014. The Defence Minister and the Director General of the country\’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) met the top brass of the Afghanistan Taliban regime in Kabul to discuss the rise in terror attacks in Pakistan masterminded by the TTP.

    The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country. Prime Minister Sharif said for the sake of the country’s prosperity, all stakeholders must sit down and resolve the matter amicably. He urged all to rise above personal likes and dislikes for the country to become an economic tiger.



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