ISLAMABAD: The Power Division has sought immediate disbursement of about Rs130 billion on account of subsidy payments against K-Electric and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. As the fiscal year approaches its end, various ministries and divisions have accumulated a series of supplementary grants for approval by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet at a meeting to be presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday. On top of the list is a request from the Power Division to release Rs70bn advance subsidy in respect of K-Electric’s arrears, followed by Rs55bn on account of tariff differential subsidy arrears of…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
KARACHI: Growing optimism about likely major business deals during the visit of a high-powered Saudi trade delegation lifted the benchmark KSE 100-share index to a new all-time high on Monday. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the bullish momentum stemmed from Saudi businesspeople’s meetings with high government officials and local counterparts to explore investment opportunities in various sectors. This follow-up visit is in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s commitment to invest $25 billion over five years in Pakistan. He added that investors also weighed the sharp deceleration in inflation, which mounted pressure on the State Bank of Pakistan to cut its policy rate and…
ISLAMABAD: Services exports grew for the second consecutive month, posting a rise of 6.77 per cent year-on-year in March after contraction for the previous four months, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data showed on Monday. Services exports reached $710.75 million from the $665.68m in the corresponding month last year. On a month-on-month basis, the services export posted a growth of 13pc. In rupee terms, the export of services grew 6.20pc in March to Rs198.08bn against Rs186.53bn in the corresponding month last year. The export of services reached $5.80bn in the July-March period of FY24 against $5.82bn in the same period last year,…
GILGIT: For the first time, the Gilgit-Baltistan Finance Department collected a record Rs3 billion in the July-March period of the current fiscal year. GB Finance Secretary Aziz Ahmed Jamali told on Monday that a multi-pronged strategy has been developed to generate revenue from tourism, power, minerals and other sectors. The efforts aim to make the region financially self-sufficient since the GB government relies on the federal budget to meet its current and development expenditures. He said the department recorded a 46 per cent increase in revenue collection over the same period last year. “Another effort towards efficiency is the digitalisation…
NASIRIYAH: Iraqi authorities on Monday executed by hanging 11 people convicted of “terrorism”, security and health sources said, the second such group put to death since late April. A security official said that the executions took place at Al-Hut prison in the southern city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province, where 11 other people likewise convicted of “terrorism” were executed last month. Under Iraqi law, terrorism and murder offences are punishable by death, and execution decrees must be signed by the president. The execution on April 22 of 11 people convicted of “terrorism” sparked concern among rights groups, with Amnesty International…
WASHINGTON: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the longest-serving independent senator in American history, said on Monday he will seek a fourth term in an announcement touting his record over 16 years and taking aim at US military funding for Israel. The 82-year-old son of Jewish immigrants — who describes himself as a “democratic socialist” and votes with the Democrats — framed November’s election as “the most important” in generations. The announcement cements Sanders, who is in a safe seat in Vermont, as the most high-profile Senate progressive as President Joe Biden vies for reelection against Republican Donald Trump while navigating…
MOSCOW: Seven people were killed and at least 35 injured in an air attack on Russia’s Belgorod region, on the border with Ukraine, on Monday. A Ukrainian drone attack hit vehicles carrying workers in Russia’s frontier region, killing six people and injuring 35, the governor said. “Unfortunately, as a result of an explosion, six people died at the scene from their wounds,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said. He added that “35 people were wounded” in the attack near the village of Berezyovka. Gladkov said the attack hit two vans transporting employees of a nearby factory as well as a passenger vehicle. The…
ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Monday reopened a mosque converted from an ancient Orthodox church in Istanbul for Muslim worship, four years after the president ordered its transformation. The Kariye Mosque was formerly a Byzantine church, then a mosque and then a museum. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the building to be reconverted into a Muslim place of worship in 2020. His order came followed a similarly controversial ruling on the Unesco-protected Hagia Sophia — a cathedral in Istanbul that was converted into a mosque and then a museum, before becoming a mosque again. The changes were seen as part of Erdogan’s efforts to galvanise…
TEHRAN: UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Iran on Monday, where he is expected to speak at a conference and meet officials for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme. The visit comes at a time of heightened regional tensions and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticising Iran for lack of cooperation on inspections and other outstanding issues. News agencies reported Grossi’s arrival “at the head of a delegation to participate in the nuclear conference and negotiate with top nuclear and political officials of the country”. He met with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and is scheduled to meet Atomic Energy…
NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM: In view of the Israeli military offensive unleashed on civilians in Gaza over the last few months, students at institutes of higher education across the globe have been demonstrating in a bid to force their universities to divest and disassociate with groups ‘enabling’ the Israeli military occupation and assault on Palestine. The wave of protests began with an encampment set up by students at Columbia University and soon spread to campuses across the United States. The student-led movement to divest and disassociate from groups with ties to Israel, is now popping up at universities across the globe. The turmoil on campuses has…
