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Pakistan’s economic conditions improving, reforms and privatization on track — PM

Pakistan’s economic conditions improving, reforms and privatization on track — PM
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chairs the meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad on March 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Prime Minister's Office)
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Updated 26 April 2024
Reuters
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Pakistan’s economic conditions improving, reforms and privatization on track — PM

Pakistan’s economic conditions improving, reforms and privatization on track — PM
  • Sharif says exports and remittances had shown a rise within one-and-a-half month of his government
  • Pakistan’s finance ministry expects the economy to grow by 2.6 percent in the current fiscal year ending June
Updated 26 April 2024
Reuters
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic indicators are showing positive signs, with an agenda of painful reforms and privatization on track, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday, ahead of an IMF board meeting to decide on a $1.1 billion funding for the country.
The prime minister said, in an address to his cabinet that was telecast live, that exports and remittances had shown a rise within one-and-a-half month of his government.
The IMF board is meeting on Monday to decide on the disbursement of the second and last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement Islamabad secured last summer to avert a sovereign default.
With a chronic balance of payment crisis, Pakistan needs $24 billion in payments for debt and interest servicing in the next fiscal year starting July 1 — three-time more than its central bank’s foreign currency reserves.
The South Asian nation is seeking yet another long-term, larger IMF loan. Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, has said Islamabad could secure a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July.
If successful, it would be the 24th IMF bailout for Pakistan.
The IMF-led structural reforms require Pakistan to raise its tax to GDP ratio from around 9 percent to at least 13 percent-14 percent, stop losses in state-owned enterprise and manage its energy sector losses which run into trillions of rupees.
“It is not just for an antibiotic to work anymore. It needs a surgery,” Sharif said.
Pakistan’s finance ministry expects the economy to grow by 2.6 percent in the current fiscal year ending June, while average inflation is projected to stand at 24 percent, down from 29.2 percent in fiscal year 2023/2024.
Inflation soared to a record high of 38 percent last May.

Pakistan extends date for filing income tax returns to Oct. 14

Pakistan extends date for filing income tax returns to Oct. 14
Updated 35 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR 
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Pakistan extends date for filing income tax returns to Oct. 14

Pakistan extends date for filing income tax returns to Oct. 14
  • Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue had earlier set Sept. 30 as deadline for filing income tax returns for tax year 2023-34
  • Shehbaz Sharif’s government has previously blocked over 210,000 mobile connections to compel people to file tax returns
Updated 35 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central tax revenue authority this week announced it had extended the last date for filing income tax returns to Oct. 14 after considering requests from trade bodies, tax bar associations and the general public. 

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had warned non-filers that it would not allow any extension in the Sept. 30 deadline to file income tax returns for the tax year 2023-24. However, in a notification on Monday night, it announced that income tax returns can now be filed by Oct. 14. 

“The FBR made the decision in view of requests from various trade bodies, Tax Bar Associations and general public,” the board said in a notification, a copy of which was seen by Arab News. 

Pakistan has one of the lowest tax ratios in the world, according to the World Bank. The South Asian country’s failure to generate tax revenues in higher amounts stems from the fact that it has a narrow tax base, low compliance rate, an inefficient tax administration and massive tax evasion, the international financial institution has said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week approved a $7 billion loan for Pakistan, critical for the South Asian country to meet its external financial obligations and strengthen its national currency. One of the key demands of the IMF from Pakistan has been to improve its tax administration and broaden its tax base. 

Pakistan last year came to the brink of default as the economy shriveled amid political chaos, the devastating 2022 floods and decades of mismanagement. Last-minute loan rollovers from friendly countries as well as a $3 billion bailout from the IMF helped the nation avert the crisis.

Pakistan aims to collect an ambitious $46 billion through taxes this financial year. Authorities have identified 4.9 million taxable persons in the country by using modern technology. On Sunday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that the country’s tax filers this year have almost doubled from 1.6 million last year to 3.2 million. He also disclosed that last year Pakistan recorded at least 300,000 new tax filers while this year, the figure has swelled to 723,000. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has used unusual methods in the past, including blocking 210,000 mobile connections, to compel people to file their tax returns. The finance minister warned that non-filers will be deprived of certain facilities to encourage them to become part of the tax net.

“Non-filers will not be able to buy vehicles, won’t be able to buy properties, won’t be able to [access] current bank accounts and mutual funds and will face a lot of problems with cash deposits and withdrawals,” he said. 

Topics: Pakistan income tax tax returns

Pakistani devotee of patriotic songs has collected 5,000 recordings

Pakistani devotee of patriotic songs has collected 5,000 recordings
Updated 26 min 44 sec ago
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Pakistani devotee of patriotic songs has collected 5,000 recordings

Pakistani devotee of patriotic songs has collected 5,000 recordings
  • Absar Ahmed, a broadcaster and author, has songs in over a dozen languages and various formats 
  • Ahmed says preserving the songs, passing on to future generations is the “most important responsibility”
Updated 26 min 44 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Absar Ahmed placed the large vinyl disc on a vintage Dansette phonograph and lowered the stylus onto the record as the sound of a decades-old Pakistani patriotic song began to fill the room. 

Ahmed, a 36-year-old broadcaster and researcher, was three years old when he fell in love with the iconic 1987 song “Dil Dil Pakistan,” becoming a devotee and going on to collect more than 5,000 patriotic songs, or “milli naghmas” as they are called in Urdu. The songs span decades, and Ahmed’s collection has them in dozens of languages and formats, including cassette tapes, CDs, and vinyl records. 

Ahmed has also authored two books on national songs, “Yeh Naghmay Pakistan Kay” and “Har Taan Pakistan.”

“I started collecting cassettes in 1996 when I bought my first cassette,” Ahmed told Arab News. “By 1999, I properly began gathering milli naghmas and at that time.”

The picture taken on September 29, 2024, shows the patriotic song collection of Absar Ahmed. (AN photo)

Many recordings have fallen into Ahmed’s lap as his reputation as a collector has spread. Others he has had to research, find and buy, traveling across Pakistan just to get his hands on a particular vinyl disk or a set of spool tapes. But many hundreds of songs he has recorded directly from radio or TV. 

“I would record every national song that was broadcasted on radio or television. I always kept a cassette in my tape recorder, ready to record any milli naghma that played on Radio Pakistan,” Ahmed said, referring to the country’s state broadcaster.

“This treasure, this collection of sounds from Pakistan, has been safely preserved and it is now part of my record collection.”

Absar Ahmed, Pakistani broadcaster and author, is listening to a song on his computer in Karachi, Pakistan, on September 29, 2024. (AN photo)

A significant part of Ahmed’s collection is in the Bengali language as many Pakistani patriotic songs were sung by Bengali artists when present-day Bangladesh used to be a part of Pakistan before it seceded after the 1971 war. 

Mufeez Rahman, an official who worked at Radio Pakistan’s Dhaka station, had protected the records from rioters in 1971, Ahmed said. In 2014, he contacted the Pakistani collector after learning about his collection through the Internet.

“I can’t even imagine how I found these,” Ahmed said. “They were no longer available anywhere else but before his death, he [Rahman] made sure to pass them on to me.”

One of Ahmed’s most notable finds is the first Indian national song recorded in 1911, “Tarana-e-Milli,” based on a poem by the legendary Allama Muhammad Iqbal, widely regarded as having animated the impulse for the Pakistan Movement and who would go on to become the national poet of Pakistan after the country’s creation out of India in 1947. 

The 1911 version was sung by Ustad Pyare Sahib, a revered singer from the Indian city of Kolkata, who migrated to Karachi after the partition of the subcontinent. 

“I was able to obtain the audio of this song in a digital format, which was given to me by someone who had the gramophone record although it later broke.”

Ahmed has national songs in Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Sindhi, Balochi, Brahui, Saraiki, Sheena, Pashto, Burushaski and Gilgiti languages. He has also digitized a significant portion of his collection, hoping the precious recordings will be accessible to future generations. 

 “Preserving them and passing them on to future generations is the most important responsibility,” Ahmed said.

His efforts are recognized by experts in the field. 

Hafiz Muhammad Noorullah, a producer at Radio Pakistan, said Ahmad’s collection was of “great significance.” 

“Absar Ahmad has compiled a collection of over 5,000 songs. Such a vast number of national songs is not even preserved at Radio Pakistan,” he told Arab News. 

“National songs carry their own importance, and preserving them for future generations is a monumental task that deserves recognition.”

Topics: Pakistan Patriotic songs

Pakistan slashes petrol price by Rs2.07 per liter till next fortnight 

Pakistan slashes petrol price by Rs2.07 per liter till next fortnight 
Updated 54 min 33 sec ago
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Pakistan slashes petrol price by Rs2.07 per liter till next fortnight 

Pakistan slashes petrol price by Rs2.07 per liter till next fortnight 
  • New price of petrol is Rs247.03 per liter while that of diesel has been reduced to Rs246.29 per liter
  • Pakistan’s government has reduced price of petrol by Rs28.57 and diesel by Rs37.51 in past two months
Updated 54 min 33 sec ago
Kashaf Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Division announced this week it had slashed the price of petrol by Rs2.07 per liter till the next fortnight due to the fluctuating global prices of petroleum products, with the move expected to ease inflation further in the South Asian country. 

Petroleum and electricity prices have been the key drivers of high inflation in Pakistan over the past two years. Inflation averaged close to 30% in FY23 and 23.4% in FY24, which ended on June 30, 2024. According to official figures, it eased to 9.6% in August this year. 

“Government has reduced the prices of petrol by Rs2.07 per liter and high speed diesel by Rs3.40 per liter for next fortnight,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday. As per the Finance Division’s notification, a copy of which is available with Arab News, the new price of petrol is Rs247.03 per liter and diesel Rs246.29 per liter. 

The price of kerosene oil was also slashed by Rs3.57 per liter and light diesel by Rs1.03 per liter, with the new prices coming into effect from Oct. 1. 

“On the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the government has reduced the price of petrol by 28.57 rupees and diesel by 37.51 rupees during last two months,” the state broadcaster said. 

Pakistan revises the price of petroleum products fortnightly, with the latest reduction following the government’s move to slash the price of petrol by Rs10 per liter on Sept. 15. In Pakistan, petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, while any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.

The latest fuel price adjustment takes place after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) formally approved a $7 billion loan program for Pakistan last week. The government says the development will further improve Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators as it will strengthen its foreign reserves and allow Islamabad to meet is external financing obligations. 

Topics: Pakistan petrol prices Pakistan petrol prices

Pakistan, Qatar hold bilateral exercise in North Arabian Sea to enhance interoperability

Pakistan, Qatar hold bilateral exercise in North Arabian Sea to enhance interoperability
Updated 01 October 2024
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Pakistan, Qatar hold bilateral exercise in North Arabian Sea to enhance interoperability

Pakistan, Qatar hold bilateral exercise in North Arabian Sea to enhance interoperability
  • Qatar Emiri Naval Ship AL KHOR participated in the exercise alongside Pakistan Navy Ships SHAMSHEER, ASLAT
  • The exercise included maritime interdiction operations, search and rescue as well as air defense operations
Updated 01 October 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Qatari navies have conducted a bilateral exercise, Asad Al Bahr-III, in the North Arabian Sea to enhance interoperability in the regional maritime arena, the Pakistan Navy said on Monday.

Qatar Emiri Naval Ship AL KHOR participated in the exercise alongside Pakistan Navy Ships SHAMSHEER and ASLAT, according to the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) of Pakistan Navy.

“During the bilateral exercise, operations including maritime interdiction operations, search and rescue, and air defense exercises were conducted,” the DGPR said in a statement.

“Aim of the exercise was to work out interoperability while handling various challenges in regional maritime arena.”
The DGPR said the bilateral exercise will not only help harness interoperability, but also mushroom avenues of bilateral defense ties.

“Conduct of joint exercises with regional navies is a manifestation of PN’s resolve of handling traditional and nontraditional challenges in maritime domain so as to ensure safety and security of seafarers in the region,” it added.

Topics: Pakistan Qatar ties North Arabian Sea PNS Shamsheer

Pakistan says bidding process for PIA auction delayed by 30 days

Pakistan says bidding process for PIA auction delayed by 30 days
Updated 30 September 2024
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Pakistan says bidding process for PIA auction delayed by 30 days

Pakistan says bidding process for PIA auction delayed by 30 days
  • The Pakistani government last week delayed the auction of the national flag carrier for the third time
  • Successive governments have steered away from the PIA’s disposal as it is likely to be highly unpopular
Updated 30 September 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: The bidding process for auction of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been delayed by 30 days, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday, as potential bidders seek more time and information to assess the airline.
The Pakistani government last week delayed the auction of the national flag carrier for the third time. Successive governments have steered away from the PIA’s disposal as it is likely to be highly unpopular, but progress on privatization is a precondition for cash-strapped Pakistan for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout approved last week.
Pakistan plans to sell more than 51 percent of its stake in the loss-making airline as part of the economic reforms suggested by the IMF which approved a long-awaited, 37-month $7 billion bailout deal on Wednesday that will require “sound policies and reforms” to strengthen macroeconomic stability and address structural challenges alongside “continued strong financial support from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”
Speaking on ARY News show ‘Khabar,’ Dar said all the bidders, who showed interest in buying the airline, had requested the government for more time through a transaction adviser handling the PIA’s auction.
“He [transaction adviser] approached the government last week, that was the last day to sign off the preconditions, so that bid bond could be submitted the next day... so he said all, barring one, are saying that ‘we need more time’,” said Dar, who also heads the cabinet committee on privatization.
“God willing,” the deputy PM replied, when the anchor specifically asked if these were the final 30 days.
The Pakistani government announced in June it had selected six companies qualified to bid for PIA out of a pool of eight after receiving expressions of interest. The initial plan was to finalize the deal to sell PIA on the country’s Independence Day, Aug. 14, but the plan was delayed following requests from bidders who were waiting for the airline’s latest audited accounts, aircraft lease agreements and clarity on flights to Europe, which are currently banned.
This was followed by September and October dates for the auction, but those have also not materialized.
Dr. Ahsan Ishaq, a spokesperson for privatization ministry, last week told Arab News that the PIA’s cumulative losses alone had surpassed Rs800 billion ($2.86 billion), with the total asset valuation of the airline standing at approximately Rs160 billion ($572 million).
In August, the country’s central bank refused to grant a waiver or exemption to prospective buyers regarding PIA’s commercial bank loans of Rs268 billion ($971.1 million) and other financial guarantees in dollar terms, a development viewed as a setback to the privatization bid.
With a fleet of 34 aircraft comprising 17 Airbus A320s, 12 Boeing B777s and 5 ATRs, the airline loses traffic to Middle Eastern carriers, who have a market share of 60 percent, because of an absence of direct flights to destinations. The carrier has air service pacts with 87 countries, and landing slots at key destinations such as London Heathrow.
The re-organization plan of the business will separate the aviation-related aspects from non-core components, so freeing the operating subsidiary of a large portion of legacy debt.

Topics: Pakistan International Airlines

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