Finance minister vows to ‘accelerate’ privatization of Pakistan state-owned assets ahead of IMF talks

Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb speaks during an interview with AFP at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, DC on April 15, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 12 May 2024
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Finance minister vows to ‘accelerate’ privatization of Pakistan state-owned assets ahead of IMF talks

  • Among main entities, Pakistan is pushing to privatize its national carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines
  • Muhammad Aurangzeb confirms IMF team has arrived in Pakistan for talks next week on new loan program

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday vowed to accelerate privatization of state-owned entities (SOEs) in Pakistan as Islamabad gears up to hold crucial talks for a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week.
Under the last $3 billion bailout package from the IMF that was critical in averting a sovereign debt default last year, the lender has said SOEs whose losses are burning a hole in government finances would need stronger governance. Pakistan is now negotiating with the IMF for a larger, longer program for which it must implement an ambitious reforms agenda, including the privatization of debt-ridden SOEs.
Among the main entities Pakistan is pushing to privatize is its national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The government is putting on the block a stake ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent.
Aurangzeb confirmed that an IMF mission had arrived in the country and Islamabad would discuss next week the contours of another loan program with the team.
“We will take this forward and there will also be public-private sector partnership in it,” Aurangzeb said about the privatization of SOEs at a pre-budget conference in Lahore. “We will accelerate the privatization agenda.”
The finance minister said he and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar were on the “same wavelength” that there are no strategic SOEs.
“After a meeting tomorrow, we will go back to these ministries to say, ‘Hand over all of these [assets] to the private sector,’” he said.
Aurangzeb said investors’ confidence in the country’s economy was improving and credited the government’s policies for the positive outcome.
Pakistan needed structural reforms and the business community should be made a part of the tax net like the salaried class, he added.
Pakistan’s key stock index crossed the 73,000 mark on Friday to close the weekend trading session at an all-time high, as investors banked on renewed hopes of an interest rate cut and improving economic indicators in the country.
Pakistan saw one of the highest inflation regimes last year, with 38 percent inflation recorded in May 2023, which eased to 17.3 percent this April. Pakistani analysts expect a further fall in May, renewing optimism of an interest rate cut from the current 22 percent in the upcoming monetary policy.


Pakistan Football Federation approves FIFA's proposed amendments to lift suspension 

Updated 16 sec ago
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Pakistan Football Federation approves FIFA's proposed amendments to lift suspension 

  • FIFA suspended Pakistan on Feb. 6 after South Asian country rejected electoral reforms 
  • Pakistan hopes move would pave way for team to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in March 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Thursday unanimously approved FIFA's proposed constitutional amendments in an extraordinary meeting in Lahore, the body said, as it attempts to return to international soccer again.
FIFA hit Pakistan on Feb. 6 with a third international suspension in less than eight years after the federation rejected electoral reforms. 
Attendees at the Extraordinary Congress called by the PFF in Lahore included officials from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.
"The congress members endorsed the FIFA proposed amendments in the best interest of Pakistan football, paving the way for the national team's participation in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers following the expected lifting of FIFA’s suspension,” the PFF said in a statement.
The global football governing body warned the suspension would only be  lifted subject to the PFF Congress "approving the PFF Constitution's version presented by FIFA and the AFC [Asian Football Confederation]."
The PFF said it was hopeful the suspension would be lifted in time for Pakistan to play Syria on Mar. 25 in its first qualifier for the 2027 Asian Cup.


Nearly weeklong closure of Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing disrupts trade, traffic

Updated 27 February 2025
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Nearly weeklong closure of Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing disrupts trade, traffic

  • Pakistan shut down over dispute concerning Afghanistan’s construction of border post on Feb. 21
  • Since then 5,000 trucks and vehicles carrying perishable goods have been stranded on both sides

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A nearly weeklong closure of a key crossing on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border has disrupted bilateral trade and the movement of people, causing financial losses to traders and leaving people stranded in harsh winter conditions, officials said Thursday.

The Torkham border crossing has remained closed since Feb. 21 after Pakistan shut it down over a dispute concerning Afghanistan’s construction of a border post.

Since then, more than 5,000 trucks and vehicles carrying goods, including fruits and vegetables, have been stranded on both sides, awaiting the reopening of the trade route, according to Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Torkham also serves as a vital corridor for transporting goods between Pakistan and Central Asian countries, and Sarhadi urged both countries to resolve their dispute so that bilateral trade and movement of people could resume.

At Torkham, truck driver Najeeb Ullah said that he was forced to sleep in his vehicle because he can’t leave it unguarded on the road.

“We request Pakistan and Afghanistan to have mercy on us, as we are suffering without any reason,” he told reporters.

Another driver, Mustafa Khan, said that he was hoping to return to his northwestern city of Peshawar after delivering a supply of cement in Afghan city Jalalabad, but “I am stuck here since Friday, and I have no idea for how many days we will have to face this trouble.”

Farhad Nusrat, an Afghan citizen, said that he was returning home with his mother and children, and the closure of the border crossing has forced them to spend their days and nights in the open area. He appealed to Pakistani authorities to reopen the border.

Authorities said that hundreds of Pakistanis were also stranded on the other side of the border.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan. However, Abdul Jabbar Hikmat, the commissioner on the Afghan side of the border, confirmed the closure by Pakistan.

“Whenever Pakistani authorities conduct construction on their side, we say nothing. But whenever we do something, they close the border,” Hikmat said.

Border closures at Torkham are common because of disputes over new posts along the porous Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never officially recognized. Pakistan, meanwhile, has nearly completed a border fence to strengthen control.

The Torkham crossing is located on the edge of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Pakistani Taliban militants frequently target security forces.


Pakistan to host summit in April to seek investments in $6 trillion minerals sector 

Updated 27 February 2025
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Pakistan to host summit in April to seek investments in $6 trillion minerals sector 

  • Government’s National Minerals Harmonization Framework 2025 to be unveiled at summit 
  • Reko Diq mine is considered one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host a minerals summit in April this year, state media reported on Thursday, as the cash-strapped South Asian nation seeks investments in its vast natural reserves estimated to be worth $6 trillion.

Pakistan has enormous reserves of minerals and natural resources, which the government hopes can become a key source of economic development in the future. The country has one of the world’s largest porphyry copper-gold mineral zones. The Reko Diq mine in southwestern Balochistan has an estimated 5.9 billion tons of ore. Barrick Gold, which owns a 50 percent stake in the Reko Diq mines, considers them one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas, and their development is expected to have a significant impact on Pakistan’s struggling economy. The Kalabagh iron ore deposits are the largest known deposits in the country.

Pakistan also has vast, untapped reserves of rare earth elements, industrial minerals, non-metallic resources, and gemstones. Northern regions like Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are believed to harbor lithium reserves as well.

State-run APP news agency said on Thursday the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan’s leading exploration and production (E&P) company, in collaboration with the government of Pakistan and strategic partners, would organize the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025 (PMIF25) on April 8-9, 2025, in Islamabad. 

“The forum will serve as a premier platform for global stakeholders to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan’s emerging minerals sector and unlock the country’s vast mineral potential,” the media outlet reported. 

“During the event, the federal government will formally unveil Pakistan’s newly developed, investor-friendly National Minerals Harmonization Framework 2025 which aims to attract investment in the country’s mineral sector.”

Partners for the event include Barrick, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL), Pakistan Minerals Private Limited (PMPL), Frontier Works Organization (FWO), Mari Energies, and the Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC).

PMIF25 will bring together high-level government representatives, foreign and local investors, leading corporations, policymakers, international diplomats, financial organizations, and industry experts to explore opportunities in Pakistan’s mining sector. 

“The event will highlight recent policy reforms, large-scale mining potential, and the country’s commitment to sustainable resource development, reinforcing its ambition to become a global mining hub,” APP said, calling the event a “transformative opportunity” for Pakistan’s mining sector that will help foster local and international partnerships and promote responsible mining practices. 


Pakistan opposition alliance demands transparent polls, release of political prisoners at Islamabad conference

Updated 27 February 2025
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Pakistan opposition alliance demands transparent polls, release of political prisoners at Islamabad conference

  • Alliance continues to hold two-day conference demanding “supremacy of constitution” in Islamabad hotel 
  • Says current parliament does not have any legal, moral or political status, demands rule of law in country

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s multi-party opposition alliance on Thursday rejected the results of the February 2024 election and demanded transparent polls be held across the country, calling on the government to release all political prisoners and ensure rule of law. 

The Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) — or the Movement for the Protection of the Constitution of Pakistan— kicked off its two-day conference on Wednesday to demand “supremacy of the constitution” at a local hotel in Islamabad. The alliance claimed on Wednesday that the government was pressurizing the administration of the hotel to cancel the event. The government strongly rejected the allegations. 

As per local media reports, Islamabad authorities sealed the Legend Hotel where the conference is being held on Thursday morning. Opposition parties’ members forcibly entered the premises after some of them climbed the gate and opened it from inside, allowing others to enter. Subsequently, opposition leaders announced that they would hold the conference in the hotel lobby while police personnel and the paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel remained stationed outside.

Pakistan’s leading opposition parties accuse the ruling coalition government of cracking down on their supporters, resorting to rights abuses, interfering in judicial matters and passing legislation to stifle dissent. The government rejects these allegations and accuses the opposition of creating hurdles in its mission to reform Pakistan’s economy. 

“The results of the rigged elections of Feb. 8, 2024, are responsible for the current political, economic and social crisis in the country,” a joint statement from the TTAP said. 

“Our constitution does not allow any Pakistani citizen to be harassed, arrested or imprisoned for participating in political activity and all political prisoners should be released immediately,” it added. 

The opposition alliance said Pakistan’s current parliament does not have any moral, political or legal status, demanding the government abolish the recently approved amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) act as they aim to stifle dissent. 

“The only solution to the current crisis in the country is the holding of free, transparent and fair elections,” the statement read. 

The alliance called on Pakistan’s political leaders to formulate a unified strategy to ensure stability and put the country on the path to development through a “national dialogue.”

“The opposition parties of Pakistan pledge to continue the collective practical struggle to implement the provisions of this agreement and this struggle will continue until the problems of Pakistan are resolved and the welfare of the people is ensured,” the statement said. 

Leaders from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by former prime minister Imran Khan, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Awam Pakistan, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) parties as well as lawyers, journalists and members of the civil society are attending the conference.

Pakistan has been plagued with political turmoil since Khan was ousted as prime minister via a parliamentary vote in April 2022. He was later convicted in a slew of charges and sent to jail in August 2023. 

Khan denies the charges and says they are politically motivated to keep him and his party away from power. He accuses the country’s powerful military of orchestrating his removal from office and backing his political rivals in the government. 

The military denies Khan’s allegations and insists it does not interfere in political matters. 


Pakistan-Bangladesh match washed out as hosts make meek exit

Updated 27 February 2025
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Pakistan-Bangladesh match washed out as hosts make meek exit

  • Pakistan crashed out of Champions Trophy after losses to New Zealand, India
  • India and New Zealand progress to Champions Trophy semifinals from Group A

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s last Champions Trophy group match with Bangladesh on Thursday was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Rawalpindi because of rain, ensuring the host country’s title defense ended with a wet whimper.
Pakistan, who won the 50-over tournament in 2017, lost to New Zealand and India and finish bottom of Group A.
Their last match had only pride at stake for both teams, with Bangladesh similarly out of the running for the semifinals.
Pakistan’s failure to advance beyond the group phase or even win a game was a huge letdown for a country hosting its first major tournament in three decades.
Pakistan finished fourth and last with one point in three matches, a position below Bangladesh, who also have one point in as many games but a better net run-rate.
Overnight rain in Rawalpindi continued on and off and despite several inspections by the umpires, no play was possible.
India and New Zealand progressed to the semifinals from Group A.
In Group B, South Africa, Australia and Afghanistan compete for the other two semifinal spots. England are out of contention.