KARACHI: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is sure to get approval from the International Monetary Fund’s executive board for a new $7 billion Extended Fund Facility this month and considers it the most significant achievement, said sources attending the 21st Annual Excellence Awards hosted by CFA Society Pakistan. The finance minister was highly optimistic about the agreement with the IMF and said his predecessors could not achieve this kind of agreement. He said he would open the agreement after final approval, expected on Sept 25. While the minister is satisfied with his achievement, the media reported that the country had to…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
India removed a floor price for basmati rice exports on Friday, according to a government order, to help farmers struggling with debt and higher costs boost overseas sales of the premium grade just weeks ahead of the arrival of the new-season crop. Last year New Delhi set a floor price, or minimum export price (MEP), of $1,200 a metric ton and later cut the MEP to $950 a ton. As supplies picked up since then, exporters urged the government to either cut or remove the MEP to ensure that farmers do not get saddled with large stocks when the new crop arrives…
MUZAFFARABAD: After over a year of open hostility, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and his predecessor Sardar Tanveer Ilyas publicly buried the hatchet on Saturday and agreed to move forward in consensus. The reconciliation was made public at a meeting held late in the afternoon at the prime minister’s camp office at Jammu Kashmir House in Islamabad. AJK Legislative Assembly member Ali Shan Soni and government adviser Sardar Ahmad Sagheer were also present on the occasion, according to a press release issued by the AJK Press Information Department (PID). Mr Soni was elected from Bhimber district on…
KARACHI: Two passengers suspected of having mpox landed at the Jinnah International Airport on Saturday and were taken to a hospital to keep them under observation. Sources said both passengers, one aged 44 and the other 32, had arrived from Saudi Arabia and were suspected of having the viral infection during screening at the airport. One of them tested negative later in the day. “We will be discharging him soon. His condition is stable,” shared a doctor at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre. Sources said lab report of the other passenger, a resident of Karachi, was still…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is experiencing the second fastest rate of HIV increase in the Asia-Pacific region, largely due to the spread of the virus from key populations to the general population through sexual networks. The Global Fund (GF) has designated Pakistan as a sub-recipient of its $72 million aid for HIV, with the funds now being channelled through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the private sector instead of the federal government. Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Radiology Department Head Professor Ayesha Isani Majeed shared this information while talking to Dawn. “According to The Lancet, HIV prevalence among the general population…
RAWALPINDI: At least 96 people are hospitalised in different hospitals in Rawalpindi in light of a spike in dengue cases as 36 more patients out of 169 suspected cases tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease in the garrison city on Saturday. During the current season, 342 have contracted the disease and landed in hospitals. Out of these patients, 241 have already been treated whereas 96 dengue patients are still in the hospitals. Only one death has been reported. 29 patients are under treatment in Holy Family Hospital, 36 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 15 in the District Headquarters Hospital, eight patients…
GILGIT: Urgent reforms in government schools and colleges are must to enhance the quality of education in Gilgit-Baltistan, speakers at the Education Stakeholders Conference 2024 stressed on Saturday, expressing disappointment over the poor performance of students in GB’s government schools in the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) secondary school exams. The conference, organised by the Gilgit-Baltistan Department of School Education in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan (AKF), was held at Karakoram International University (KIU). Key participants included GB’s Minister for Education Shehzad Agha, Chief Secretary Abrar Ahmad Mirza, Secretary Education Syed Akhtar Rizvi, Acting Vice-Chancellor…
QUETTA: Newly appointed Inspector General of Balochistan Moazzam Jah Ansari has said the sophisticated weapons and equipment left behind by US troops during their withdrawal from Afghanistan have fallen into the hands of terrorists and these weapons are being used in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Speaking to the media during his visit to Quetta Press Club on Saturday, along with SSP (operations) Muhammad Baloch and other police officers, IG Ansari said the police force lacks access to advanced weapons, including night vision equipment and modern arms, which are being used by terrorists in their attacks. He said terrorists have thermal…
KARACHI: Former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar has slammed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for proposing that the province should hold direct talks with Afghanistan on the issue of terrorism. In an interview on Geo News’ programme Jirga aired on Saturday, Ms Khar said the idea of every province pursuing their foreign policy is “idiotic”. “Let state be the state. If every province starts pursuing their own foreign policy, it’d be tantamount to challenging the Constitution. Foreign policy is entirely a federal subject,” she said. Earlier this week, the KP CM expressed his intentions to bypass the federal government and send a delegation…
ISLAMABAD: The much-anticipated bill aimed at fixing the tenure of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) was not tabled on Saturday in either house of parliament, with the National Assembly echoing controversial remarks made by PTI founder Imran Khan on social media. The National Assembly session was adjourned by Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah, who was presiding over the house, until today (Sunday), apparently to introduce the bill, which is said to be part of a broader constitutional package. Tensions flared during the lower house proceedings as members from the opposition and treasury benches exchanged harsh remarks, each criticising the other’s…
