KARACHI: The country’s current account deficit surpassed $9 billion in the first half of the ongoing fiscal year, accounting for 5.7 per cent of the gross domestic product, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed on Saturday. The current account deficit — which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country — is well ahead of the government’s revised target of 4pc of GDP for the current fiscal year. The SBP said the current account deficit of $9.09bn was “led by a significant terms of trade shock amid ongoing economic recovery”. The deficit…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led coalition government and opposition are expected to lock horns next week over the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 in Senate, where the latter is not only in majority but also heading the Finance Committee. The government will make an all-out attempt to pass the bill to meet the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amid a clear message from main opposition parties — Pakistan People Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — to block its passage in the Upper House due to their numerical strength. This will be a test case for the…
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Saturday the government would soon launch property projects for overseas Pakistanis to provide them investment opportunities with peace of mind. Overseas Pakistanis stand behind Pakistan to make it economically strong, he said in an interview with Gulf News. “We are bringing completely a new concept of overseas Pakistanis’ investment in the country to keep them safe from any fake or fraudulent real estate schemes. We have already acquired land in Islamabad and are in the process of getting more land in Karachi, Lahore and other major cities for Pakistanis living abroad. “The…
BERLIN: Germany’s centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) on Saturday elected arch-conservative Friedrich Merz their party leader to follow the more centrist Armin Laschet, who lost September’s national election to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats. Merz, who has promised a break with the CDU’s centrist course pursued by Angela Merkel during her 16-year tenure as chancellor, got nearly 95pc of the valid votes during a virtual party conference, party secretary general Paul Ziemiak said. The official election followed an informal vote last month in which Merz beat party rivals Norbert Roettgen and Helge Braun, who had both positioned themselves as heirs of…
LONDON: A British politician who accuses the government of blackmailing opponents of Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will take his allegations to the police. William Wragg, a lawmaker from the governing Conservative Party, said legislators calling for a challenge to Johnson’s leadership have faced intimidation that amounted to blackmail. Wragg alleged that rebellious lawmakers were threatened with a loss of public funding for their constituencies and had embarrassing stories about them leaked to the press. Johnson has said hes seen no evidence to support those claims. The prime minister is facing a political crisis over allegations that he and staff…
KYIV: The first shipment of the United States’ $200 million security support package for Ukraine arrived in Kyiv, the US Embassy said on Saturday. The delivery followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv this week amid concerns from Kyiv and its Western allies over tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed at the border with Ukraine. Russia denies planning a new military offensive. Washington approved the $200 million package in December. “The United States will continue providing such assistance to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces in their ongoing effort to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian…
HASAKEH: Fighting raged for a third day on Saturday between the militant Islamic State group and Kurdish forces in Syria after IS attacked a prison housing jihadists, with the violence killing nearly 90 people, a monitor said. The assault on Ghwayran prison in the northeastern city of Hasakeh is one of IS’s most significant since its “caliphate” was declared defeated in Syria nearly three years ago. “At least 28 members of the Kurdish security forces, five civilians and 56 members of IS have been killed” in the violence, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. IS launched…
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General António Guterres has pledged to continue his ‘discreet diplomacy’ for resolving the Afghan crisis, repeating his appeal for a conditional release of Afghanistan’s frozen funds. The United States froze nearly $7 billion of Afghan assets in the New York Federal Reserve soon after the Taliban captured Kabul in August 2021. Since then, organizations and individuals in both the United States and Europe have been urging Washington to unfreeze the funds. On Thursday, the US House of Representatives recommended a focused release of humanitarian funds to address the imminent economic and humanitarian disasters facing the people of Afghanistan.…
SAADA: The Saudi-led coalition on Saturday denied carrying out an air strike on a prison in Yemen’s rebel-held north that aid groups said killed at least 70 people, including migrants, women and children. Claims the military coalition ordered the raid, which reduced buildings to rubble and left rescuers scrabbling for survivors with their bare hands, were “groundless”, the alliance said. The attack, which coincided with a coalition strike on the Yemeni port of Hodeida that killed three children and knocked out the impoverished country’s internet, was condemned by the United Nations secretary-general. But “these claims adopted by the militia are baseless and unfounded”, said…
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned the flying of drones in the country for recreation after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a fatal drone attack on an oil facility and major airport in the country. As of Saturday, drone hobbyists and other operators of light electric sports aircraft face “legal liabilities” if caught flying the objects, the Interior Ministry said, adding it may grant exemptions to businesses seeking to film. A rare drone and missile strike on the capital of Abu Dhabi blew up several fuel tankers and killed three people last week. The Houthis, who hold Yemen’s capital and have fought…
