The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government must come up with an explanation on the reports released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs that the country has received $23.6 billion foreign loan since the inception of the government back in 2018. Why so much loans when one can hardly see any landmark project in the offing by utilizing these loans? If the government is taking loans only for the balance of payments, this will not benefit the country…
Posts published in “Pak Media comment”
The government’s apparently insatiable appetite for foreign exchange, which has led it engage in $4.5 billion fresh borrowing so far this fiscal year, not yet half over, including $1.1 billion in expensive commercial loans, last month, have led it become so desperate for the next IMF tranche, that it has agreed to a power price hike it had previously rejected as politically unacceptable. While nothing has changed on the political front so as to make…
by Inam Ul Haque in The Express Tribune, Dec 17th, 2020. The writer is a retired major general and has an interest in International Relations and Political Sociology. Alot has happened, at least in the perceptual domain, since August 27, 2020, when I wrote “The imperatives of Pak-Saudi relations”, published in this space. And perceptions are critical to any relationship. Then… the interdependent nature of our historic and deep-rooted ties was emphasised. However, in the…
Report in Dawn, 17 Dec 2020ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani discussed on Wednesday the progress in the ongoing Afghan peace process and strengthening of relations between the two countries as a delegation from Doha-based Taliban’s Political Commission (TPC) met Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The Taliban delegation is scheduled to meet the prime minister during their three-day trip. The visit is taking place on Pakistan’s invitation as part of Islamabad’s…
The report by a five-member commission set up by the prime minister in July to look into the oil crisis, which hit the country in June this year, does not make for pleasant reading. The report which has been made public blames Ogra, the Ministry of Petroleum, private oil companies and others involved in the delicate business of purchasing and regulating oil, for the crisis. As Geo TV has been repeatedly reporting and highlighting, notably…
A delegation of the Taliban Political Commission (TPC), under Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar’s leadership is in Pakistan to hold consultations on the Afghan peace process. The arrival of the Taliban delegation is significant as it follows an anxious trip of America’s Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad to Islamabad on Monday. Pakistan is already aware of the apprehensions of the US; the biggest fear of the current administration is the uptick in violence across…
TWO incidents in Karachi illustrate the fact that the port city is still very much vulnerable to acts of terrorism, and that security forces need to stay ahead of militants trying to destabilise the metropolis. The first, an attempted attack, targeted a Chinese restaurateur, though luckily the bomb attached to his vehicle failed to detonate. Later in the day, a vehicle of the paramilitary Rangers was hit by a cracker near Karachi University’s Sheikh Zayed…
Though Pakistan has successfully eradicated terrorists’ dens from the whole country and has broken the neck of the terror strain, some parts of Balochistan are, however, now and then shaken by militants’ attacks. Not to mention Baloch insurgents are quick to claim responsibility for such attacks, the major part of the problem remains in India. Who can forget the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s confession made in June 2015 in Bangladesh that his country is…
by Dr Farid A Malik in Pakistan Today, Dec 17, 2020The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation.After inserting Article 6 in the 1973 constitution, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) was confident that the era of military takeovers was over. It was not only violated in his life time, also the entire judicial system was hijacked to physically eliminate him. After failing to contain the ‘ Bhutto influence ‘ in politics, Zia the first violator of this…
by Fahd Husain in Dawn, 17 Dec 2020Lahore has made Prime Minister Imran Khan smile. This is no small feat given the tremendous pressure he has been under since the start of the year. In January inflation hit. Then Covid-19 hit. Then sugar scandal hit. Then wheat debacle hit. Then petrol crisis hit. Then Covid-19 peaked. Then economy nosedived. Then opposition coalesced into PDM. Then solid jalsas hit. Then Covid-19 second wave hit. Bad news…
Heavily in debt: Editorial in Dawn, Dec 19th, 2020
PAKISTAN’S foreign debt and liabilities have been increasing rapidly over the last several years. The government is forced to borrow heavily from external sources — including multilateral and bilateral creditors, and commercial lenders — in order to meet its foreign debt repayment obligations, as well as to finance its budget, development and imports. Its growing need for dollars has compelled the country to periodically knock at the doors of the IMF over the last three…