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IMF to wait for ‘findings’ of mission in Pakistan for further engagement with Islamabad — spokesperson

IMF to wait for ‘findings’ of mission in Pakistan for further engagement with Islamabad — spokesperson
This handout photograph released by the Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance on May 13, 2024, shows Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb (L) meeting with a International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission led by IMF mission official Nathan Porter (2R) at the Finance Ministry in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: Ministry of Finance)
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Updated 17 May 2024
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IMF to wait for ‘findings’ of mission in Pakistan for further engagement with Islamabad — spokesperson

IMF to wait for ‘findings’ of mission in Pakistan for further engagement with Islamabad — spokesperson
  • An IMF team this week met top Pakistani officials in Islamabad to kickstart discussions on a fresh bailout
  • The cash-strapped South Asian country is expected to seek around $7-8 billion bailout from the global lender
Updated 17 May 2024
KHURSHID AHMED   
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KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it would wait for findings of its mission, currently holding talks in Islamabad, for further engagement with Pakistan, which seeks a fresh bailout from the global lender.
The South Asian country, which has been facing low foreign exchange reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation, last month completed a short-term $3 billion IMF program that helped stave off a sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program.
While Islamabad has said it expects a staff-level agreement by July, both Pakistani and IMF officials have refrained from commenting on the size of the program. The South Asian country is expected to seek around $7-8 billion bailout from the global lender.
An IMF team, led by Mission Chief Nathan Porter, this week met Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, central bank governor, chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue and other officials in Islamabad to kickstart discussions on the country’s further engagement with the lender.
“Right now, a mission team led by Nathan Porter, our Mission Chief, is meeting with the authorities this week to discuss the next phase of our engagement with Pakistan,” IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said at a press briefing on Thursday, when asked about the status of talks with Pakistan.
“Given that there is a mission on the ground, we will wait for them to complete their work and we will communicate the findings of the mission in due course.”
Pakistan narrowly averted a default last summer and its $350 billion economy has slightly stabilized after the completion of the last IMF program, with inflation coming down to around 17 percent in April from a record high of 38 percent in May last year.
However, the South Asian country is still dealing with a high fiscal shortfall and while it has controlled its external account deficit through import control mechanisms, it has come at the expense of stagnating growth, which is expected to be around 2 percent this year, compared to negative growth last year.
Wall Street Bank Citi expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the IMF of up to $8 billion program by end-July, and recommends going long on the country’s 2027 international bond.
“While longer-term challenges pertain, we see several positive catalysts supporting the Eurobonds,” Nikola Apostolov at Citi wrote in a note to clients.
“First, a larger and longer IMF EFF (Extended Fund Facility) program could be finalized by July – possibly a $7-8 billion 4-year program and secondly and a possible inflow of Saudi investments,” Apostolov said after a team from Citi visited Pakistan and met policymakers, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
Citi said it expected Pakistan’s international 2027 bond to offer a sweet spot to investors with sufficient liquidity and large upside as risks of default dissipate further.

Topics: Pakistan IMF Talks Pakistan IMF IMF bailout IMF IMF Pakistan

Four Rangers, two cops killed in clashes as Imran Khan supporters enter Islamabad — state media

Four Rangers, two cops killed in clashes as Imran Khan supporters enter Islamabad — state media
Updated 31 sec ago
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Four Rangers, two cops killed in clashes as Imran Khan supporters enter Islamabad — state media

Four Rangers, two cops killed in clashes as Imran Khan supporters enter Islamabad — state media
  • Army deployed in Pakistan’s capital with instructions to shoot miscreants on site, says state media
  • Pakistan interior minister warns Imran Khan’s party against crossing any “red line” as they reach capital
Updated 31 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Four Rangers personnel and two policemen have been killed in clashes with Imran Khan’s supporters in Islamabad, state-run media reported on Tuesday, as thousands of protesters entered Pakistan’s capital demanding the jailed former prime minister’s release from prison. 
Thousands of rallygoers, who had reached the edges of Islamabad on Monday night in protest caravans that set out from various parts of the country last week, entered Islamabad where they reportedly clashed with law enforcers on the city’s Srinagar Highway. 
Supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party set out despite the government refusing to grant the PTI permission to enter Islamabad for a sit-in. Last week, the district administration also imposed a two-month ban on public gatherings in the capital, citing security challenges and inconvenience to the public. 
Khan’s PTI is protesting for the release of political prisoners, including Khan, among other demands. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan said the government had invoked Article 245 of the constitution to deploy the army in the capital “to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand.”
“According to security sources, miscreants rammed a vehicle into Rangers personnel resulting in the martyrdom of four Rangers officials during PTI’s protest on Srinagar Highway in Islamabad,” Radio Pakistan said.

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi holds a press briefing at the Red Zone in Islamabad on December 25, 2024, as the supporters of Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan enter Islamabad for a sit-in to demand his release from prison. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Interior Ministry)

“Five other Rangers personnel and several police officials sustained severe injuries.”
The report said that Khan supporters pelted stones on Rangers personnel and carried out indiscriminate firing on security personnel at the Chungi no. 26 area in Islamabad’s tiwn city of Rawalpindi.
It said two police officers were also killed in clashes. 
“Under Article 245, the Pakistan Army has been called in, and orders have been issued to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand,” Radio Pakistan said.
“Clear orders have also been issued to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight.”

Teargas, fired by police to disperse supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is seen during a protest demanding his release in Islamabad late on November 25, 2024. (AFP)

Meanwhile, the PTI alleged on social media platform X that law enforcers had opened fire on its unarmed supporters in the capital. It said that the party’s protest caravan in the city’s G-11 area was being heavily teargassed.
“The fake government is ready to go to any extent to maintain its illegal occupation,” the PTI said.
Islamabad has remained under a security lockdown since Sunday, with authorities closing all schools in the capital and the adjacent garrison city of Rawalpindi, while Internet and WhatsApp messaging services have also slowed.
All routes connecting Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been completely shut since Sunday, as are highways and roads from other cities leading to the federal capital. 

Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party shout slogans as they march toward Islamabad after clearing shipping containers placed by authorities during a demonstration demanding Khan’s release, in Hasan Abdal in Punjab province on November 25, 2024. (AFP)

Inspector General (IG) Punjab, Dr. Usman Anwar, said on Monday that 119 cops had been injured, some of them due to gunfire by miscreants. 
Speaking to reporters late Monday night, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the government had offered the PTI a designated place at Sangjiani area in Islamabad to protest. 
“A head of state is in Islamabad, it is a sensitive [time], we do not want to go to an extreme step at D-Chowk,” Naqvi said, referring to the Belarusian president, who is in Islamabad with a high-level delegation.
 “But do not cross the red line which forces us to go to that extreme step.”
‘TILL MY LAST BREATH’
The PTI march started on Sunday but could not reach Islamabad the same day as shipping containers placed by the government on key points on major highways slowed the pace of the caravans. The PTI says its final destination is D-Chowk, a high-security area in the capital’s Red Zone that houses key government buildings and is a popular site for protests. 
The largest PTI protest caravan began its journey from Peshawar, the provincial capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province where Khan’s party is in power. It is being led by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Khan’s wife Bushra Khan, who was released on bail in October after nearly nine months in detention. 
Khan has been in jail since August last year and faces a slew of charges he says are politically motivated. 


“Until Khan does not return to us, we will not end this march,” Bushra said to supporters from atop the protest caravan on Monday afternoon. 
“I will stand there till my last breath, you people have to stand by me. I will keep standing even if nobody does because this does not concern just my husband but the country and its leader.”
Islamabad police has confirmed over 400 arrests related to the protest in the past few days, saying the detainees were being held in different police stations. The PTI said over 3,500 of its leaders and supporters had been arrested in connection to the protests.

A supporter of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), looks from a prison van after he was detained during anti-government rally, in Lahore on November 24, 2024. (REUTERS)

The PTI’s march has coincided with a visit to Islamabad by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and a 68-member delegation to discuss investment deals. The government has accused the PTI of trying to sabotage the foreign visit in a bid to destabilize its economic recovery efforts.
The PTI rejected this criticism, saying its protest had been called before the announcement of the Belarusian delegation’s visit.

Topics: PTI protest Islamabad Protest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party Imran Khan D-chowk

‘Give us another solution,’ Balochistan CM asks opponents of military operation against separatists 

‘Give us another solution,’ Balochistan CM asks opponents of military operation against separatists 
Updated 32 min 37 sec ago
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‘Give us another solution,’ Balochistan CM asks opponents of military operation against separatists 

‘Give us another solution,’ Balochistan CM asks opponents of military operation against separatists 
  • Government has announced operation but not shared details of scale, scope, whether it will be joint effort with China
  • Analysts say military solutions will not work in Balochistan, plagued by low-level separatist insurgency since decades
Updated 32 min 37 sec ago
SAADULLAH AKHTER

QUETTA: Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan, on Monday asked opponents of a planned military operation against separatists in the insurgency-plagued southwestern province to suggest another solution to a surge in militant attacks, saying the armed campaign would target “terrorists and their camps.”
The province has seen a rise in deadly attacks that have targeted both citizens and security forces in recent months, including a series of coordinated assaults in August in which over 50 people were killed and a suicide bombing last month that targeted Pakistani army troops at a railway station, killing 27, including 19 soldiers, who were in civilian clothing. 
Last Tuesday, the federal government announced that it would launch a “comprehensive” military operation to stem the rising tide of separatist militancy, though many political parties, civil rights groups and citizens have questioned the chances of the armed campaign’s success in the vast province. 
“Obviously, this will be a targeted operation and the operation will be against those who are committing this terrorism, there will be operations against the terrorist camps,” Bugti said in response to questions by reporters. 
“My question to all political parties is that if any other solution is seen emerging against this terrorism, then the government and the state of Pakistan are ready for this solution. These nationalist parties should tell us that solution … If any other political party knows any other solution, I ask them to tell the government.”
The statement from the prime minister’s office last week announcing the launch of the operation did not give any details, including which security forces would take part, whether the campaign would be limited to ground operations or could involve the air force, when it would be launched and in which parts of the vast, remote Balochistan province. It also did not mention if the plan would be a joint effort with Beijing, since Balochistan is home to key Chinese Belt and Road projects, and there has been a rise in attacks on Chinese nationals and interests in the region. 
Pakistan’s military already has a huge presence in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran and is home to a decades-long separatist insurgency by militants fighting for a separate homeland to win a larger share of benefits from the resource-rich province. The government and military deny they are exploiting the province’s mineral wealth or ignoring its economic development. 
The military has long run intelligence-based operations against insurgent groups, the most prominent being the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has escalated attacks in recent months on the military and nationals from longtime ally China.
The region hosts the Gwadar Port, built by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative to expand China’s global reach.
In addition to the recent attacks, the BLA also claimed a suicide bombing last month outside the international airport in the southern port city of Karachi that killed two Chinese engineers.
Ethnic Baloch separatists have launched several insurgencies in Balochistan since the birth of Pakistan in 1947, including from 1948-50, 1958–60, 1962–63 and 1973–1977. An ongoing low-level insurgency began in 2003. The army has launched several military campaigns in response, including as early as 1948 in the state of Kalat and a five-year-long operation in the 70s under Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
“Many political governments have come and gone in Balochistan but the operation has continued,” Sardar Akhter Jan Mengal, head of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) and a prominent Baloch nationalist leader in the province, told Arab News last week. “No one can resolve Balochistan’s political issue with military operations.”
Indeed, political leaders and independent analysts have for years urged the government to take a holistic approach to resolving Balochistan’s problems, which they say stems from decades of economic deprivation and political disenfranchisement. The province, which comprises 44 percent of Pakistan’s total land mass, is its most backward by almost all economic and social indicators.
Rich in land and mineral wealth, most parts of the region often lack even the rudiments of modern life. For instance, though home to Reko Diq, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, and the site of major Chinese investment projects, the province lacks employment opportunities and basic facilities like Internet, health and education.
Balochistan is also the least represented in Pakistan’s parliament, where legislative seats are allocated to provinces according to their population. Balochistan has a population of only 14.89 million people in a country of over 240 million and is hence allocated only 16 National Assembly seats. Punjab, with a much smaller land area but a population of 127.68 million, gets 141 seats.

Topics: Baloch Liberation Army Militant attacks Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti Quetta Blast Balochistan Attacks

Elephant Madhubala to reunite with cousins today after 15-year separation

Elephant Madhubala to reunite with cousins today after 15-year separation
Updated 41 min 57 sec ago
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Elephant Madhubala to reunite with cousins today after 15-year separation

Elephant Madhubala to reunite with cousins today after 15-year separation
  • Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants in Pakistan, was brought from Tanzania in 2009 along with three other elephants 
  • She and her companion, Noor Jehan, were then brought to Karachi Zoo, Noor Jehan died last year, leaving Madhubala alone 
Updated 41 min 57 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Elephant Madhubala is set to be reunited with her cousins at Karachi’s Safari Park sanctuary today, Tuesday, after being separated from them for 15 years and spending the last year alone, an animal welfare organization said. 
Named after a legendary Indian actress, Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants in Pakistan, was brought to the country in 2009 along with three other elephants from Tanzania. She and her companion Noor Jehan were separated from their kin about a decade and a half ago and moved to the Karachi Zoo. 
Noor Jehan passed away in April 2023 at the age of 17 after being critically ill due to neglect, leaving Madhubala alone at the zoo since then. Animal rights organizations have since campaigned for Madhubala to be shifted to the Safari Park, saying the solitary life was taking a toll on her health. 

This handout photo, taken and released by FOUR PAWS International, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, on November 24, 2024, shows officials from the FOUR PAWS work on a sanctuary being created for Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants in Pakistan, at Safari Park in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: FOUR PAWS/Handout)

A team from FOUR PAWS International, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, has arrived in Karachi to oversee Madhubala’s transfer to the sanctuary on Tuesday.
“I’m excited to see how Madhubala will react when she meets her cousins,” Dr. Amir Khalil, director of reveal and rescue at FOUR PAWS, told Arab News. 
“Imagine someone who hasn’t seen their siblings in fifteen years — how will she feel when they finally reunite?”

This handout photo, taken and released by FOUR PAWS International, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, on November 24, 2024, shows Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants in Pakistan, at a zoo in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: FOUR PAWS/Handout)

FOUR PAWS said in a statement last month that the adaptation work at Karachi’s Safari Park had reached its final stage. 
Madhubala will be carried from the Karachi Zoo to the Safari Park in a huge transport crate. The elephant has been trained to enter and exit the crate by herself and sit inside it during the move. 
“As part of the final preparations, the focus now lies on completing the landscaping of the elephant enclosure at Safari Park, finalizing enrichment features, and continuing the necessary training of the three elephants, including resuming crate training for Madhubala,” FOUR PAWS said.

This handout photo, taken and released by FOUR PAWS International, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, on November 24, 2024, shows Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants in Pakistan, at a zoo in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: FOUR PAWS/Handout)

The elephant enclosures at Safari Park will have water elements for bathing, skincare and thermoregulation. Enrichments such as hay nets, varying substrates like soil, sand, clay, and sawdust will be provided for Madhubala to dust bathe. The area has also been secured by elephant-proof fencing.
Animal rights activists have long campaigned about the plight of animals in Pakistan, especially elephants, and demanded they be shifted to “species-appropriate” locations such as the Safari Park.

This handout photo, taken and released by FOUR PAWS International, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, on November 24, 2024, shows official from the FOUR PAWS works on a sanctuary being created for Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants in Pakistan, at Safari Park in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: FOUR PAWS/Handout)

 

Topics: safari park Elephant in Karachi Zoo Madhubala elephant

Pakistan says over 20,000 Hajj applications received today

Pakistan says over 20,000 Hajj applications received today
Updated 25 November 2024
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Pakistan says over 20,000 Hajj applications received today

Pakistan says over 20,000 Hajj applications received today
  • Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage
  • Quota of 5,000 has been allocated this year for overseas Pakistanis on “first-come, first-served basis”
Updated 25 November 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani religious affairs ministry has said over 20,000 Hajj applications had been received by Monday, as the nation prepares for the annual pilgrimage slated to be held in June next year.

Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage, to be divided equally between the government and private schemes. Around 15 designated Pakistani banks started receiving applications for Hajj 2025 from intending pilgrims on Monday. 

“20,170 Hajj applications received till Monday,” a spokesperson for the Religious Affairs Ministry said on Monday, saying applications were continuing to be filed at designated banks across the country. 

“Reception of applications under the government Hajj scheme will continue till December 3.”

A quota of 5,000 has been allocated for overseas Pakistanis on a “first-come, first-served basis,” the ministry said, adding that the lottery for the government Hajj scheme would be held on Dec. 6

Pakistan’s religious affairs minister this month announced the country’s Hajj 2025 policy, according to which pilgrims can pay fees for the annual Islamic pilgrimage in installments for the first time.

Under the government scheme, the first installment of Hajj dues, amounting to Rs200,000 ($717), has to be deposited along with the Hajj application, while a second installment of Rs400,000 ($1,435) must be deposited within ten days of the balloting. The remaining amount has to be deposited by Feb. 10 next year.

On Sunday, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said it had launched the “Pak Hajj 2025” mobile application to guide and facilitate pilgrims. The app is available for both Android and iPhone users.

Topics: Pakistan Hajj 2025 Hajj applications Arab News Pakistan

Naval chief says Pakistan’s economic future ‘inextricably linked’ to maritime security

Naval chief says Pakistan’s economic future ‘inextricably linked’ to maritime security
Updated 25 November 2024
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Naval chief says Pakistan’s economic future ‘inextricably linked’ to maritime security

Naval chief says Pakistan’s economic future ‘inextricably linked’ to maritime security
  • Admiral Naveed Ashraf says challenges in Indian Ocean Region requires greater vigilance
  • He says Pakistan’s socio-economic prosperity can be assured by harnessing blue economy 
Updated 25 November 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf on Monday emphasized the importance of maritime security for the country’s economic future, calling for robust measures to address “unprecedented challenges” in the Indian Ocean Region.
In a message issued to mark the Seventh Maritime Security Workshop, scheduled to run from November 26 to December 5 at the Pakistan Navy War College in Lahore, Ashraf highlighted the need to harness the country’s maritime potential while ensuring a secure environment for trade and economic growth.
He noted the Indian Ocean Region faced significant challenges, including geopolitical competition, nuclearization and transnational threats, compounded by rapid technological advancements.
“The country’s economic future is inextricably linked to the sea, which serves as mankind’s last reservoir for sustenance,” he said. “Securing our maritime domain is not merely a national priority but a necessity, requiring cooperation, innovation and vigilance.”
Ashraf stressed the potential of Pakistan’s maritime resources to drive socio-economic prosperity through the exploitation of the blue economy, enabled by a secure maritime environment.
His comments come at a time when Pakistan has made a strategic offer to landlocked Central Asian economies for access to its ports, allowing them to conduct trade via sea routes.
The initiative underscores Pakistan’s ambition to position itself as a critical hub for regional economic activity.
“Our rich maritime resources offer great potential for economic prosperity,” the naval chief maintained.
“Let us work toward a secure and stable maritime environment that benefits not only our nation but the global community at large,” he added.

Topics: Pakistan Pakistan Navy Seventh Maritime Security Workshop

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