ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan made a sweeping cabinet reshuffle on Thursday after only seven months in power and appointed Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as de facto finance minister to steer the country through worsening economic turmoil.
Pakistan is on the brink of signing up for it 13th International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout since the late 1980s in a bid to stave off a balance of payments crisis and ease ballooning current account and fiscal deficits.
Khan’s government inherited a wobbly economy but the former cricketer has come under intense criticism for failing to fulfil his promises that he would steady the ship and bring prosperity to Pakistan.
Khan late on Thursday announced 10 ministerial appointments in a shakeup that included the departure of Finance Minister Asad Umar, who has been a close ally to Khan for many years.
Shaikh, who already served as finance minister from 2010-2013 under the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party when it was in power, has been appointed as “Adviser on Finance” but will be heading the finance ministry once again.
In Pakistan it is common for financial experts to be given the title of “adviser,” rather than federal minister, to head the finance ministry when they are not a sitting member of parliament.
Earlier in the day Umar, announcing that he would step down, said Pakistan would still go into an IMF program but warned his successor that he faces a tough job ahead.
“No one should expect from the new finance minister that things could be better in three months’ time,” Umar told reporters in capital Islamabad on Thursday afternoon.
“The next budget will be a difficult one,” he added, referring to annual spending plans for the financial year ending June 2020 due to announced in May.
Umar, who had been asked to quit on Wednesday night, said he still strongly believed Khan was the best hope for the country.
Influential Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has been moved to the science and technology ministry, while retired Brig. Ijaz Ahmed Shah has been appointed as Interior Minister. Energy expert Nadeem Babar has been appointed to lead the petroleum ministry.
Khan was widely expected to turn to a steady hand to replace businessman Umar, who was the former chief executive of Engro, Pakistan’s biggest private conglomerate.
Shaikh, a U.S-educated economist who worked at Harvard University, also spent many years working for the World Bank and had also been the privatization minister during the government of former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf.
Speculation that Umar would be replaced had been rife for months, with some business groups and investors unhappy with Umar’s strategy of seeking short-term loans from allies such as China and Saudi Arabia instead of finalizing an IMF rescue package after Khan assumed power in August.
Khan’s government has got temporary relief from allies, including China and Saudi Arabia, who offered short-term loans worth more than $10 billion to buffer foreign currency reserves and ease pressure on the current account.
But it was not enough.
Umar has been leading negotiations with the IMF but has faced criticism over a worsening economic outlook on his watch, with inflation at a five-year high and the local rupee currency down about 35 percent since Dec 2017.
The central bank last month cut growth estimates, forecasting the economy to expand 3.5 to 4 percent in the 12 months to the end of June, well short of a government target of 6.2 percent. The IMF paints a gloomier picture, predicting growth of 2.9 percent in 2019 and 2.8 percent next year. (Additional reporting by Saad Sayeed; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Robert Birsel, Clarence Fernandez and Andrew Heavens)
Pakistan PM Khan appoints new finance ministry chief in major reshuffle
Pakistan PM Khan appoints new finance ministry chief in major reshuffle
- Abdul Hafeez Shaikh named de facto finance minister to steer country through worsening economic turmoil
- Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry moved to science and technology ministry, retired Brig. Ijaz Ahmed Shah appointed interior minister
Pakistan central bank lowers key policy rate to 11%
- The decision came in the backdrop of soaring tensions with neighboring India following a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir
- It will be followed by International Monetary Fund’s decision on releasing $1 billion to Islamabad from its $7 billion bailout
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank reduced its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11% on Monday, resuming a series of cuts that brought the rate down from a record high of 22% after a brief pause in March.
Nine of 14 analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the central bank to cuts its key rate, with three expecting a 50 bps cut and two calling for a 100 bps cut.
The decision came in the backdrop of soaring tensions with neighboring India following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. The nuclear-armed neighbors have announced a raft of punitive steps that aim to hurt each other economically.
It also comes ahead of an imminent International Monetary Fund (IMF) decision on releasing Islamabad’s next tranche of $1 billion from its $7 billion bailout program.
The bank had cut the rate by 1,000 basis points since June from an all-time high of 22% before a surprise decision to hold it in March, citing the risk of price rises including from increased US tariffs.
The inflation rate fell to 0.3% in April, its lowest in roughly a decade and below finance ministry estimates of 1.5% to 2%. The central bank forecasts average inflation to be in the range of 5.5% to 7.5% for the fiscal year ending June.
Pakistan’s manufacturing sector growth slowed to a seven-month low in April, with the HBL Pakistan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) easing to 51.9 from 52.7 in March, as concerns over global trade weighed due to the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
New orders slumped while export orders in particular plummeted. Employment fell for a second month as firms cut costs.
‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions
- Soldiers from both nations perform aggressive marches, avoid traditional handshake as emotions run high over standoff
- Border crossing closed after attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Pakistan, which denies charge
At the Wagah-Attari border, which marks the final boundary between the nuclear-armed nations of India and Pakistan, the atmosphere is charged with patriotism. The sound of drums can be heard as soldiers perform a choreographed, ceremonial march, showcasing both countries’ pride.
However, the usual symbol of cooperation — a handshake between the two countries’ soldiers — is missing, and the iron gates that separate the two sides remain locked. This is in the context of tense relations between India and Pakistan, heightened by a deadly attack in Kashmir.
Despite the tension, people gather to express their feelings, celebrate their national identities, and watch the dramatic flag-lowering ceremony that has become a symbolic ritual at the border. Visitors on the Pakistani side say they are not afraid of the soaring tensions and for them, it is business as usual.
“We don’t feel any such tension. We feel that we are as safe as we used to be before,” Muhammad Luqman, a Pakistani teacher who was visiting the Wagah border, told AFP.
“The reason for this is that we feel our country’s defense is in strong hands. We don’t have any sort of doubt or fear.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the attack as public anger swelled in his country after New Delhi accused Pakistan of involvement in the April 22 attack that killed 26 tourists. Islamabad has denied the allegations and called for a credible international probe into it.
On Monday, Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India.
The two nuclear-armed countries have exchanged gunfire along their de facto border in Kashmir, and there have been fears that the latest crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, could spiral into a military conflict.
“Pakistan is a brave nation. We live near the Wagah border. If there is any danger, we will be first picked up from the village, then it will be the turn of the people of the city, because we live in the [border] village,” said Muhammad Abu Bakar, a student.
“The villagers should be afraid, but the villagers are not afraid.”
The flare-up between India and Pakistan has once again alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue.
Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals, friendly states as tensions with India simmer over Kashmir
- Pakistan-India relations have plummeted since India accused Islamabad of an attack in the disputed Kashmir region that killed 26 tourists on April 22
- The subsequent diplomatic flare-up, exchanges of gunfire between the two neighbors has alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals and friendly nations as tensions simmer with India over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22, with the two nuclear-armed neighbors taking a raft of punitive measures against each other.
India has blamed Pakistan for the attack in Pahalgam resort town. Islamabad has denied involvement and asked for evidence which New Delhi has so far not publicly shared. Both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.
Amid soaring tensions, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in Pakistan on Monday for discussions on bilateral ties and regional developments, days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif postponed his scheduled visit to Malaysia.
Separately, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott met Sharif at his office, where the prime minister shared Pakistan’s perspective on the prevailing situation in South Asia. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also on a visit to Gulf countries, including Oman and Qatar, where he is expected to brief the Gulf leaders on Pakistan's stance.
"We will demonstrate patience, we will exercise full restraint and we will not be the first one to take any escalatory move," Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters in Islamabad, following his meeting with the Iranian FM Araghchi.
"However, if India takes any adventure, any escalatory move, then we will give a befitting reply. So, that's where we stand."
Dar said Pakistan had nothing to do with the Pahalgam incident, reiterating PM Shehbaz Sharif's offer for a credible international probe into the April 22 attack.
"Our offer is very much there," he added.
In his meeting with FM Araghchi, PM Sharif shared Pakistan’s concerns over the prevailing tensions in South Asia as a result of India’s "provocative behavior" since the Pahalgam attack, according to Sharif's office.
"He categorically rejected any attempts to link Pakistan to the incident, without sharing any evidence," Sharif's office said. "He also stressed that India’s weaponization of the Indus Waters Treaty was unacceptable and a redline for the people of Pakistan."
India suspended the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty a day after the Pahalgam attack, saying the suspension would last until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism." Pakistan has described the suspension of treat as an "act of war."
The flare-up and exchanges of small arms fire between India and Pakistan across their de facto border in Kashmir has alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue. Pakistan has assured foreign capitals and friendly nations that it would not be the first one to strike, according to officials.
In his meeting with British High Commissioner Marriott, Sharif urged the United Kingdom, which enjoys good relations with both Pakistan and India, to play its part in de-escalating the situation.
"The British high commissioner thanked the prime minister for sharing Pakistan’s position and said that the UK would work closely with Pakistan and India for maintaining regional peace and security," Sharif's office said.
Also on Monday, Interior Minister Naqvi met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and briefed him on the prevailing regional situation.
"Pakistan has always rejected the policy of aggression. India has been offered an independent and impartial investigation into the Pahalgam incident, the truth about the incident should come before the world as to who is really responsible for it," Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry.
"Making baseless and illogical accusations against Pakistan is tantamount to ignoring our great sacrifices in the war against terrorism."
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.
Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities
- Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi among cities where samples positive
- Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year, 74 cases were confirmed last year
PESHAWAR: The poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from 18 districts of Pakistan, including major urban cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, the national polio eradication program said on Monday.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 is essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.
Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year and has planned three major vaccination campaigns in the first half of 2025. Last year, 74 polio cases were confirmed in Pakistan.
“As robust poliovirus surveillance continues in Pakistan, 38 environmental samples collected from 31 districts between Apr. 7-17 were tested at the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication,” the lab said in a statement.
“The lab confirmed detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples of Loralai, Quetta, Zhob, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Bannu, DI Khan, Peshawar, Tank, North Waziristan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Badin, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Kashmore, Karachi, and Sukkur.”
A third nationwide campaign to vaccinate children under the age of five is scheduled from May. 26 to June 1.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.
Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams and security guards protecting them.
19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan
- Oil tanker caught fire in southwestern Nushki district on April 28
- Police say investigating possibility of negligence in oil tanker blast
QUETTA, Pakistan: The death toll from an oil tanker blast in southwest Pakistan jumped to 19, officials said Monday, a week after the incident.
Crowds had gathered to douse the flames of the burning tanker after it pulled over near a market, when it exploded.More than 40 people were injured, many of them transported to the mega city of Karachi for treatment.
“The death toll climbs to 19,” local police official Muhammad Hasan Mengal told AFP.
The incident happened on April 28 in Nushki, a district of Balochistan province.
He said police were investigating the possibility of negligence.
