ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated its appreciation for Pakistan’s policies that restored economic stability over the past year in its latest statement on Friday, while emphasizing the need to increase revenue by broadening the tax net.
The IMF approved a 37-month, $7 billion loan program for Pakistan this week, recognizing the government’s commitment to implementing the stringent economic reforms it had recommended.
The government has already announced plans to improve its tax-to-GDP ratio and is reforming the revenue generation system by incorporating more integrated, automated technology to enhance efficiency and compliance.
“The implementation of sound policies over the past year has been critical to restore economic stability, reduce near-term risks and rebuild confidence,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said while highlighting continued structural challenges that require government’s attention.
He emphasized continued fiscal consolidation in the ongoing financial year and beyond through enhanced revenue mobilization.
“Increasing revenue mobilization by broadening the tax base, removing special sectoral regimes, and placing a fairer burden on previously undertaxed sectors (including industrialists, developers, and large-scale agriculture), will enhance fairness and efficiency and create needed space for essential investments in human capital, infrastructure, and social spending,” he added.
The IMF statement also highlighted “insufficient” spending on health and education, saying it had made it difficult to address “persistent poverty” in the country.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said this week the government wanted to eliminate the “non-filer” category by taking punitive actions against those who previously paid nominal amounts on various transactions to avoid filing tax returns.
He pointed out that measures were being taken to improve tax compliance and enforcement, which had previously remained weak.
The minister also said the government aimed to widen the tax net by incorporating the agriculture, retail and wholesale sectors, saying its “hand has been forced.”
IMF emphasizes broadening tax base while praising Pakistan’s commitment to economic reforms
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IMF emphasizes broadening tax base while praising Pakistan’s commitment to economic reforms
- A top lending agency official asks government to place ‘fairer burden on previously undertaxed sectors’
- IMF highlighted ‘insufficient’ health and education spending, says it makes it difficult to address poverty
Cannot allow Islamabad protest, Pakistan interior minister tells ex-PM Khan’s party
- Jailed Imran Khan’s party has called for “long march” to Islamabad on Nov. 24 to demand his release
- Pakistani authorities block roads, seal off motorways ahead of opposition’s Islamabad protest
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday discussed the prevailing political situation in the country with former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, warning him that the government will not allow the party to stage a protest sit-in or rally in the capital.
Thousands of Khan supporters are expected to arrive in Islamabad on Sunday for a “long march” to the capital. The PTI’s march is primarily aimed at pressurizing the government to end the jailed Khan’s imprisonment, which has lasted for over a year, on what his party contends are politically motivated charges.
The party also aims to raise its voice against alleged rigging in the Feb. 8 general elections while calling for measures to ensure judicial independence, which it says has been undermined by the 26th constitutional amendment. The government denies this.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed the government to form a committee to hold discussions with the PTI. The court said that if no breakthrough was reached between the two parties, then the government would be responsible for maintaining law and order. It said that in that case, “no protest or rally or for that matter sit-in shall be allowed.”
“Mohsin Naqvi informed Barrister Gohar about the post-Islamabad High Court order situation,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. “He said we are bound by the high court’s order and cannot permit any procession, sit-in or rally.”
The minister informed the PTI chairman about the engagements of the 80-member high-level delegation accompanying the president of Belarus, who will be in Islamabad from Nov. 24-27.
“Barrister Gohar said he will inform the Interior Minister about the final response after party consultation,” the state media said.
MOTORWAYS, MAJOR ARTERIES SEALED
Pakistan’s National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) said on Friday that motorways across the country leading to Islamabad have been sealed from various areas to protect people’s lives ahead of the PTI’s planned protest.
Authorities sealed off major arteries and roads with shipping containers leading to Islamabad from the surrounding Rawalpindi city, including at the Faizabad terminal, and other areas on Friday.
In a notification released on Friday, the NHMP cited intelligence reports that protesters were planning to disrupt law and order in the capital, adding that they would be armed with sticks and slingshots.
“To prevent any untoward situation and to protect the lives of the people, motorways have been closed from various locations,” the NHMP said.
“The lives and property of the people will be guaranteed at all costs. Those who take the law into their hands will be dealt with strictly.”
Hours earlier on Friday, the NHMP had shared a notification on social media platform X in which it had said that certain sections of the motorway were closed due to maintenance work. These sections were: M-1 Islamabad to Peshawar, M-2 Islamabad to Lahore, M-3 Lahore to Abdul Hakeem, M-4 Pindi Bhattian to Multan, M-14 Hakla to Yarik and M-11 Lahore to Sialkot.
As per local media reports, the Metro Bus service between the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be suspended on Nov. 24 while a ban on public gatherings has been imposed in Punjab from Nov. 23-25 ahead of the PTI’s march.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s interior ministry had authorized the deployment of paramilitary Punjab Rangers and Frontier Corps troops in Islamabad to maintain law and order.
Pakistan’s parliament also passed a law earlier this year to regulate public gatherings in Islamabad, specifying timings for rallies and designating specific areas. The law prescribes three-year jail terms for participants in illegal assemblies and 10-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Cop among two killed in separate IED blasts in northwestern Pakistan
- No group has so far claimed responsibility for blasts which took place in Bajaur tribal district
- Seventy-five police personnel have been killed, 113 injured in militant attacks in KP this year
PESHAWAR: A police constable and a civilian were killed in separate Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, police said, as Islamabad struggles to contain surging militancy in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
The IED blasts took place in the northwestern Bajaur tribal district on Saturday morning, killing one cop and a civilian.
As per official data, 75 police personnel have been killed and 113 injured in militant attacks and targeted assassinations in KP province this year.
“Both blasts were reported in the premises of Loi Mamund police station earlier today,” Bajaur Police spokesperson Muhammad Israr told Arab News.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts so far.
“An IED was placed in front of the policeman’s house which detonated when he was leaving home for duty at around 9:30 am in Mena village of Loi Mamund,” Israr added.
He said the other blast took place around 8:00 am in Irab village, also located within the vicinity of Loi Mamund police station, in which one person was killed.
Israr said police have started investigating both incidents.
Pakistan blames the surge in militancy in KP province, which borders Afghanistan, on the Pakistani Taliban militants that it alleges have found safe havens in Afghanistan.
Kabul denies the allegations and urges Pakistan to resolve its security challenges on its own. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since November 2022 when a fragile truce between the Pakistani state and the Pakistani Taliban broke down.
Mourners in Pakistan’s Kurram district demand inquiry after sectarian clashes kill 41
- Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying 41 members of Shiite community in Kurram district on Thursday
- Authorities impose curfew, suspend mobile phone services in district long plagued by sectarian clashes
ISLAMABAD: Mourners in northwestern Pakistan’s Kurram district on Saturday demanded the government hold a transparent inquiry into sectarian clashes that killed 41 people this week, as fear grips the restive area days after the attack.
Authorities imposed a curfew and suspended mobile phone services in Kurram district after 41 people were killed on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying members of the minority Shiite community.
The assault, one of the deadliest such attacks in recent years in the area, took place in the district where sectarian clashes have killed dozens of people in recent months.
“A transparent inquiry of this incident should be carried out,” Hayat Abbas Najafi, one of the mourners, told Reuters at one of the district’s main towns Parachinar during a funeral ceremony.
“We call on the government as well as security institutions that Parchinar, which is a great part of Pakistan, should be saved from sectarianism and should be provided safety and security.”
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for weeks following deadly clashes.
Previous clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a tribal council called for a ceasefire.
Sajjad Hussain, another mourner, said among those killed were infants as young as six months old and women.
“They were innocent passengers. What was their fault,” he asked.
Shop owners in Parachinar announced a three-day strike on Friday to protest the attack while locals described an atmosphere of fear across the district following the incident.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called the shootings a “terrorist attack.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, and Sharif said those behind the killing of innocent civilians will not go unpunished.
Shiite Muslims make up about 15 percent of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan.
With inputs from Reuters
UAE promotes Arab culture and cuisine at three-day festival in Karachi
- UAE consulate in Karachi kicks off celebrations ahead of nation’s National Day
- UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and major source of remittances
KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul General in Karachi this week paid a visit to promote several stalls selling Arab cuisine and highlighting Arab culture at a three-day festival in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, ahead of the Gulf nation’s National Day.
Sindh’s Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah inaugurated the three-day Sindh Craft Festival on Friday which showcases traditional shawls, quilts, handlooms, and caps made by artists from all over Sindh at Karachi’s famous Port Grand entertainment hub.
UAE Consul General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Al Rumaithi visited the festival on Friday to highlight Arab cuisine and review stalls promoting Arab culture at the festival. The UAE consulate is gearing up for celebrations to mark the nation’s 53rd National Day on Dec. 2.
“Various stalls have been set up at Port Grand keeping in mind Arab culture,” the UAE Consulate in Karachi said in a statement on Friday.
Al Rumaithi noted that women, children and the elderly were all taking part in the three-day cultural festival.
“We have a centuries-old relationship with Pakistan which is strengthening,” he observed.
The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE ministry of foreign affairs. The UAE-Pakistan trade volume rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up 12 percent from 2022.
In May this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the Emirates had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan. The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), set up this September at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also aims to increase Pakistan’s bilateral trade volume with the UAE to $40 billion in three years.
The UAE is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates and the second-largest source of remittances to Pakistan after Saudi Arabia.
T20 Blind Cricket World Cup kicks off in Pakistan today sans India’s participation
- Pakistan’s blind cricket team to take on South Africa in Lahore today
- India failed to secure clearance from government to travel to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The fourth T20 Blind Cricket World Cup will kick off today, Saturday, with Pakistan set to face South Africa in the eastern city of Lahore, state-run media reported days after India pulled out of the tournament.
The T20 Blind Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in Pakistan from Nov. 23-Dec. 3. As per Radio Pakistan, the tournament will feature blind cricket teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Nepal and Afghanistan.
“In the Fourth edition of the Blind Cricket T20 World Cup, the opening match will be played between South Africa and Pakistan in Lahore today,” Radio Pakistan said.
India was also scheduled to take part in the tournament but the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced on Wednesday that its blind cricket team was withdrawing from the event, citing its failure to secure clearance from New Delhi to travel to Pakistan.
Political tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have restricted cultural exchanges and bilateral sports events between the two nations.
Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
India withdrew its blind cricket team from the tournament with a little over three months left before the start of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is also set to be held in Pakistan in February/March next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) this month that India will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament.
The ICC informed the PCB of the BCCI’s decision, following which Pakistan demanded an explanation from the cricket governing body. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it will not agree for the tournament to be shifted to another country and has insisted India travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka under a “hybrid” hosting model for the tournament. Several months later, Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup.
