by Malik Asad in Dawn, September 24th, 2022ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Friday suspended an outstanding arrest warrant against PML-N’s Ishaq Dar, paving the way for the former finance minister’s return from London, where he has been living in ‘self-exile’ for the past five years or so. Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir issued a suspension order for a perpetual warrant of arrest against Mr Dar, which was issued on Dec 11, 2017, after Mr Dar…
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report in The Nation online, Sept 24, 2022 at 10:18 AMWeb Desk: Former finance minister Ishaq Dar can be given the same portfolio after his return to Pakistan, according to Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan. “There is no issue for him to become a finance minister,” the minister said. “However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has not made any decision so far in this regard.” The government led by the PML-N will take advantage…
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer to hold a national dialogue to develop consensus on a charter of economy is a timely step in the right direction. Keeping in view the dismal condition of the economy the current government inherited from the PTI in April this year, it is of vital significance that there be some agreement on the major and recurring issues of the economy. All stakeholders must take the prime minister’s offer seriously and…
Just over a year after Amazon added Pakistani suppliers to its roster for potential sellers, there are troubling reports that the global shipping and retail chain has shut down more than 13000 accounts of our sellers due to fraudulent activity. It gets even worse because groups of retailers are claiming that Sahiwal and Mian Channu have also been blacklisted as locations due to the high amount of fraudulent activity coming from these areas. This is…
Pakistan’s potential tax gap stands at Rs3,000 billion on an annual basis mainly in the shape of tax exemptions for powerful lobbies, massive tax evasions, and the inability of the machinery to collect due taxes. On the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on eve of the budget-making exercise for 2022-23, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been assigned to conduct the first-ever formal study to assess the ‘tax gap’ keeping in view jurisdictions…
DESPITE having progressed to ‘very good step’ and being ‘close to concluding the agreement’ a few days back, the talks between Pakistan and the IMF for the resumption of the $6bn programme seem to have hit a deadlock. Pakistan’s entire finance team that had been negotiating the revival of the loan facility in Washington since early this month has had no option but to leave without finalising an arrangement that is considered crucial to mitigating…
KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves dropped to $22.773 billion in the week ended Nov 19, 2021, from $23.550 billion a week ago, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Thursday. The reserves held by the SBP decreased by $691 million to $16.254 billion, mainly due to external debt repayment, it said in a statement. The reserves of commercial banks also fell to $6.519 billion from $6.605 billion. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/911706-forex-reserves-drop-to-22-773bln
Pakistan has a serious debt problem, and it is getting worse with each passing year. The $100 billion or so foreign debt is pinching, and so is the circular budget deficit, which is again on the surge as currency depreciates and imports surpass exports. Having agreed that there is no magic wand to address this issue, until and unless the government hits a jackpot of recovering stolen money and assets stashed abroad, it has placed…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was originally created to work with member nations to implement measures to ensure the stability of the international financial system and correct balance-of-payment maladjustments. By the early 1980s, however, it took a different course. Rather than helping governments avoid currency crises, it has persistently pressured them to abandon the regulation of cross-border trade and financial flows, resulting in massive trade imbalances and reckless financial speculation. IMF-sanctioned policies helped attract huge…
ISLAMABAD: To break the deadlock over revival of $6 billion Extended Fund Facility, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have decided to show some flexibility in their stance on the issue of granting autonomy to the central bank, Dawn has learnt from knowledgeable sources. Both sides began talks on Oct 4 through virtual interaction. The talks were scheduled to conclude by Oct 15 but continued until Oct 23. Since then, the IMF and Pakistan’s finance…
Both Iran and China have the same view about rooting out terrorism in Afghanistan and its spillover to neighboring countries as well as honoring a non-interference policy and territorial integrity in the country, Iranian Ambassador to China Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh told the Global Times in an exclusive interview. The ambassador noted that Iran supported the use of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative to improve the economy and people’s livelihoods in Afghanistan. He praised China’s pledge…