KARACHI: International Monetary Fund IMF on Tuesday said with the achievements of all the performance criteria set for the first quarter the fund’s bailout program now moves to the structural reforms to get the country out of boom and bust cycle.
“We see that the authorities remain strongly committed to all the objectives of the program. We are now at the stage in the program where we move to the area of structural reforms. These are really important to build an institutional framework for the country so that there is no repetition of the boom bust cycles of the past,” Ramirez Rigo, Mission Chief for Pakistan at International Monetary Fund, said in a conference call.
The IMF mission chief identified the three areas for continued progress that Pakistan needs to focus including the quality of the fiscal adjustment that will require continued work on the tax revenue side, energy sector reforms for more automaticity capacity implementation by legislation for National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), and the independence of central bank.
The fund on Monday released report of the first review of the bailout program under which it agreed to extend $6 billion to Pakistan. The IMF has documented progressed made by the authorities and revised targets including the revenue collection target for current fiscal year.
Islamabad had targeted Rs 5.5 trillion tax collection for the current fiscal year FY20 through Federal Board of Revenue FBR but the fund projects agency’s tax collection would be Rs 5.238 trillion, showing a reduction of Rs 265 billion.
The report highlights that the country has met around 6 performance criteria while two are continuous and the Islamabad has missed 5 indicative targets that include cumulative floor on targeted cash transfers spending Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) as only Rs 5 billion were released against target of Rs 45 billion.
Real GDP growth is projected at 2.4% in FY 2020, but net exports are now expected to provide a larger contribution to growth mainly due to greater import compression. Growth is projected to strengthen to around 3% in FY 2021, and 4.5–5% over the medium-term.
Average CPI inflation is projected to decelerate slightly to 11.8 percent in FY 2020 as administrative and energy tariff adjustments are expected to offset the effects from weak domestic demand.
The Fund views that the Pakistan has made progress on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism AML/CFT deficiencies, although much remains to be done. With assistance from capacity development providers (including the IMF), the authorities are committed to completing the actions in the structural benchmark by end-June 2020.
Analysts say the funds appraisal is positive for Pakistan though some targets were missed. “We believe overall IMF’s staff appraisal is positive, though some indicative targets were missed. In fact, on some accounts (like Net international reserves (NIR), Net Domestic Assets (NDA),budget deficit), the authorities have achieved over performance,” Muhammad Sohail, senior financial analysts and CEO of Topline Securities, said.
Economists say the fund has identified the important area where if the government fails to focus the situation may lead to agitation. “The IMF has reported that the job creation is need which has been hampered by the slowing growth. The fund has expressed its concerns that it could lead to agitation as you already see due to inflation. The solution they have provided is that they have suggested to increase the allocation for development spending to create more jobs,” Dr. Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), told Arab News.
The IMF will hold the next review of the bailout program from March 6, 2020 for the disbursement of another $452.4 million tranche.
IMF says bailout program to get Pakistan out of boom and bust cycle
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IMF says bailout program to get Pakistan out of boom and bust cycle
- Pakistan met 6 performance criteria, missed 5 indicative targets — IMF report
- Slow growth rate may spark agitation in the country, analysts
Imran Khan’s party moves top court against Pakistan constitutional amendment on judicial reforms
- Urges top court to declare amendment null and void as votes to pass it were obtained via “harassment”
- Pakistan’s ruling coalition government says only parliament has power to roll back constitutional amendments
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced on Saturday it has challenged a contentious constitutional amendment on judicial reforms in the Supreme Court, urging the top court to declare it null and void as the government allegedly harassed opposition lawmakers to have it passed in parliament.
The ruling coalition government passed the contentious 26th constitutional amendment bill from both houses of parliament in October 2024, amid stiff resistance from opposition parties and the legal fraternity. Both argued the government’s move was an attempt to curtail the independence of the judiciary, a charge it denies.
The amendments empower a parliamentary committee to appoint the Supreme Court’s chief justice for a fixed term of three years. It also called for the creation of new group of senior judges to weigh exclusively on constitutional issues.
The government secured 225 votes of the required 224 in the National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, with the help of a handful of rebel lawmakers from the PTI. The party has claimed that the government harassed and intimidated opposition lawmakers and their families to secure the votes. The government denies the allegations vehemently.
“Legal team representing Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf has challenged the 26th amendment in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, requesting to declare its status null & void along with constitutional benches formation & decisions by the judicial bench,” a statement from the party said.
The PTI alleged that lawmakers were harassed and abducted to ensure the amendments were passed.
“The 26th amendment was opposed by the party at many levels that publicly criticized the process of pushing through the 26th amendment, with individuals being coerced into voting and genuine consent was not involved,” the PTI added.
As per a summary of the petition filed in the Supreme Court, the party has maintained that the 26th amendment introduces “unprecedented and substantial” changes to the fundamental structure and salient features of the constitution.
The development takes place a day after Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the government’s key coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party, said only parliament has the power to roll back the 26th constitutional amendment.
“As far as rolling back the 26th [constitutional] amendment is concerned, that power only rests with this institution,” Bhutto Zardari told reporters at the National Assembly, referring to the lower house of parliament.
“Neither will we accept nor will the nation nor anyone else if the constitution is rolled back or undermined by another institution.”
TENSIONS WITH THE TOP COURT
The amendment fixing the top justice’s retirement age was passed days before Qazi Faez Isa, the then chief justice, was due to retire.
Khan’s PTI frequently accused Isa of being aligned with the government, its chief rival, an allegation the government has always rejected. Khan’s party repeatedly said the amendments were aimed at granting an extension in tenure to Isa.
Under the previous law, Isa would have been automatically replaced by the most senior judge behind him, currently Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who consistently issued verdicts deemed favorable to Khan and the PTI.
Sharif’s government has said the bill ensures parliament will not remain “a rubber stamp” one in the wake of its tensions with the judiciary, which were on the rise since the February national election of last year.
Pakistan’s national airline suspends 5 crew members for allegedly smuggling cell phones
- Customs seized “expensive” mobile phones from crew members after arrival of Dubai-Multan flight on Jan. 22, says PIA
- The national airline earlier this week dismissed two crew members for smuggling mobile phones in October last year
KARACHI: Pakistan’s national airline this week suspended five crew members for allegedly smuggling cell phones into the country, a spokesperson of the flag carrier confirmed on Saturday, vowing to enforce a “zero tolerance” policy for those found guilty of wrongdoings.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Jan. 23 issued a show cause notice to five crew members, two of them air hostesses and two stewards, saying that customs authorities had seized “expensive” mobile phones from them on Jan. 22 after the arrival of the PIA flight PK-222 to Multan from Dubai. .
“PIA has already started the process of probing the incident and if found guilty, the crew will be subjected to the strict most administrative action,” PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan told Arab News.
“The spokesperson reiterates PIA’s position of zero tolerance in case any of its staff members are found involved in nefarious activities,” he added.
The airline did not disclose how many smuggled mobile phones were allegedly recovered from the five crew members.
The development took place a day after the airline fired two crew members, an air hostess and a steward, after finding them guilty of smuggling mobile phones in October from Toronto. Customs authorities seized the mobile phones from the two crew members after the arrival of flight PK-798 from Toronto to Lahore on Oct. 5, 2024, as per a copy of the dismissal notice seen by Arab News
The loss-making PIA has proven to be a headache for successive Pakistani governments over the years, needing frequent financial bailouts to function.
PIA posted losses of $270 million in 2023, according to local media. Its liabilities were nearly $3 billion, about five times the total worth of its assets.
PIA, which employs 7,000 people, has long been accused of being bloated and poorly run — hobbled by unpaid bills, a poor safety record and regulatory issues.
Pakistan’s government has said it is committed to privatizing the debt-ridden airline and has been scrambling to find a buyer. Late last year, a deal fell through after a potential buyer reportedly offered a fraction of the asking price.
Pakistan minister criticizes opposition for ‘unilaterally’ ending talks with government
- Information Minister Ataullah Tarar says Imran Khan’s party ended talks “in a hurry with ill intention”
- Khan’s PTI has ruled out further talks unless government forms judicial commissions to probe protests
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar this week criticized former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for ending negotiations “unilaterally” with the government, saying it should have waited for the other side’s response.
PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan announced the party’s decision to end further talks with the government on Thursday, saying that it would only resume negotiations to break political tensions if authorities established judicial commissions to investigate violence at anti-government protests organized by the PTI.
Negotiations between the two sides kicked off in December 2024 after Khan threatened a civil disobedience movement. Both sides held three rounds of talks, and the government was expected to submit a formal response to the PTI’s demands on Jan. 28.
“Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar says Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf unilaterally terminated the dialogue process without any reason,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.
The minister said the PTI should have waited for the government’s response to their demands, lamenting that it took the decision to end talks in a “hurry with ill intention.”
Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022 has plunged Pakistan into a political crisis, particularly since he was jailed in August 2023 on corruption and other charges. His PTI party has regularly held protests to demand his release, with many of the demonstrations turning violent.
But despite the government-opposition stalemate, Junaid Akbar Khan, a lawmaker from the PTI, was elected on Friday unopposed as the head of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), according to a statement issued by the National Assembly Secretariat. The post of the PAC chairman had been vacant since the general election in February last year.
The PTI’s demands to the government revolve around the release of all political prisoners including Khan, and the formation of two judicial commissions to probe into violent protest rallies, including one on May 9, 2023, when PTI supporters rampaged through military offices and installations, and a second one on Nov. 26, 2024 to demand Khan’s release, in which the government says four troops were killed.
So far, the government has remained tight-lipped on whether or not it would form the judicial commissions as per the PTI’s demands.
Pakistan president confers civilian award on citizen who saved pilgrims’ lives during Hajj 2024
- Asif Bashir was instrumental in saving 17 pilgrims’ lives during Hajj 2024 when they fainted due to extreme heat
- Indian Minister for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijju also thanked Bashir in letter of gratitude last year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari this week conferred the country’s third highest civilian award on Asif Bashir, a Pakistani Hajj assistant who saved the lives of several pilgrims during last year’s pilgrimage after they fainted due to the extreme heat.
Bashir was among 550 Pakistani Hajj Moavineen (assistants) recruited by the government to provide facilities to Pakistani pilgrims. However, they also provide facilities to pilgrims belonging to other countries.
Bashir, along with his five-member team, rushed to provide first aid to several pilgrims as they fainted to the ground while the temperature soared above 51 degrees last year. He was able to transport 26 to the hospital, most of whom were Indians. Nine of them died while 17 survived.
“President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday conferred the Sitara-i-Imtiaz award on Asif Bashir in recognition of his outstanding services in the field of public services,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Friday.
The state-run media said Zardari conferred the award during a special investiture ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr or President House, which was attended by parliamentarians.
Bashir and his team were able to save the pilgrims by giving them water and ORS [Oral Rehydration Solution] and transporting those who needed medical attention to a nearby hospital that was almost 5-6 kilometers from their check-post.
Out of the 17 that Bashir was able to save, 15 were Indians, one was British and one was a Canadian national.
In recognition of Bashir’s efforts, Indian Minister for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijju even wrote him a letter of gratitude.
Kashif Ali to debut for Pakistan as West Indies opt to bat in second Test
- Pakistan lead series 1-0 after winning first Test in Multan by 127 runs last week
- Pakistan retain three specialist spinners in playing XI after their first Test heroics
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani pacer Kashif Ali will make his debut against West Indies today, Saturday, at the Multan Cricket Stadium as the two sides lock horns in the second Test match of the series.
Pakistan lead 1-0 in the two-match series after winning the first one at the same venue by 127 runs. Pakistan’s spin duo of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan once again did the trick for Pakistan, spinning a web around West Indies batters to dismiss them before they could chase Pakistan’s target.
Khan took nine wickets in the Multan Test while Noman took six and Pakistan’s third spin option Abrar Ahmed took five wickets to skittle the West Indies.
“West Indies win the toss and elect to bat first,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
Kashif Ali will get the Test cap today as Pakistan announced its playing XI on Friday. He will serve as the sole pacer in the upcoming fixture as Pakistan retain their spin-heavy bowling attack, featuring Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed.
Pakistan’s playing XI:
Shan Masood (c), Muhammad Huraira, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Kashif Ali.
West Indies squad:
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Joshua Da Silva (vc), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Amir Jangoo, Mikyle Louis, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Jayden Seales, and Jomel Warrican.
