Page 17 - Pakistan Government

Pakistan's election commission receives petitions seeking delay of polls

Two separate petitions seeking the postponement of general elections in Pakistan on February 8 landed before the election commission, citing growing terror threats and inclement weather. The petitions, filed by individuals hailing from the restive Balochistan province, cited security issues and snowfall in several districts as reasons to seek the postponement of elections, the Dawn newspaper reported. One of the petitions filed by Meena Majeed, a general councillor from Mand tehsil of Kech district through Advocate Fatima Nazar, stated Balochistan was grappling with heightened security concerns. Specifically, the Mekran division has witnessed a surge in terrorist activities, ranging from target killings of innocent daily wage earners to alarming incidents such as IED blasts and women suicide bombing, it stated. The impact was most pronounced in districts such as Kech and Gwadar, where 61 acts of terrorism during the last three months alone claimed 32 lives, it read. According to t

Pak's KPK govt to launch eviction operation against illegal Afghans: Report

Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a major operation to evict thousands of illegal Afghans from the provincial capital Peshawar, a senior official said on Saturday. The move by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government came amid the ongoing deportation of illegal Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan. The crackdown has so far forced about 340,000 Afghans in recent weeks to leave Pakistan after spending years in the neighbouring country. "The KPK Provincial Government has decided to launch a grand operation for the eviction of illegal Afghans from this northwestern city of Peshawar," said the official. Pakistan's caretaker government has previously said security concerns were behind the deportation order. Islamabad has claimed that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 of the 24 major terrorist attacks that have taken place in the country this year. However, the Taliban-led government in Kabul has rejected Pakistan's claim. On Friday, a joint meeting of Deput

Pakistan informs IMF its debt serving costs may go up to PKR 8.5 trn

A substantial portion of this debt cost is attributed to domestic debt servicing, while external debt servicing exceeds PKR 900 billion

Pakistan stocks rise to highest in 6 yrs on election optimism, IMF visit

The benchmark stock index struck a record intra-day high of 53,263.07 on Friday, rising 1.15% from Thursday close, before settling back slightly. It was the highest since May 25, 2017

Pakistan, IMF commence negotiations for second tranche of $3 bn loan

Cash-strapped Pakistan and the IMF have kicked off the much-awaited loan review talks for the release of the USD 710 million second tranche of a USD 3 billion bailout package on a generally positive note. Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar and the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) mission chief for Pakistan, Nathan Porter, led their sides to the opening round of two-week-long negotiations to discuss the next tranche based on Pakistan's performance in the first quarter that started in July. Porter "appreciated the government's commitment" to meeting the first-quarter targets, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement after the meeting, which has set the stage for a deep dive into forward-looking reforms under a nine-month bailout package, slated to be completed in March next year. He also "commended the government's efforts and measures taken in some critical areas" and underscored the importance of continuing these efforts to stay on track for ensuring the country's .

Pak central bank keeps key rate unchanged at 22% ahead of IMF's visit

Inflation rose sharply to 31.4% in September on the back of a record fuel price hike, but the government has since slashed prices at the pump

Pakistan interim govt suspends Nawaz Sharif's sentence in Al-Azizia case

The development comes on the day when Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Sharif is scheduled to attend multiple hearings at an accountability court

Pakistan general elections date likely to be announced soon: Caretaker PM

Asserting that there will be a level playing field for all political parties in the next general election, Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has expressed hope that the election commission will shortly announce the date of the polls. Without mentioning the exact date, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last month announced that general elections would take place in the last week of January 2024. It seems that the date of the elections will be announced quite soon," Kakar told reporters at a news conference, three days after returning from China, where he had attended Belt and Road Forum (BRF) conference on the 10th anniversary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Commenting on the issue of equal political space for parties in the country, Kakar said, No political party has been left out of the political process and that the caretaker government is doing its best to assist the electoral process.

Pakistan: PIA cancels flights over non-payment of dues to fuel supplier

The Pakistan International Airlines cancelled 14 domestic flights while four others were delayed by several hours

Pakistan's tax collection insufficient to meet financial needs: World Bank

It also suggested that the country should increase tax collection from major sectors and eliminate income tax, sale tax, and customs duties exemptions

Pakistan elections to be held in the last week of January 2024: Poll body

The development comes a day after the ECP said it had scheduled a meeting with political parties next month to discuss the code of conduct for general elections

IMF asks details of Pakistan's plans to reduce electricity tariffs

People across Pakistan have been protesting against the rise in electricity prices for the past few days

Pakistan's Punjab govt seals 10 Lahore theatres over 'vulgar' performances

Pakistan's Punjab provincial government has sealed at least 10 mega commercial theatres here on the charges of 'promoting obscenity through women dancers', a top official said on Saturday. The action by the caretaker government in the province came days after it slapped a ban on 25 female stage dancers/actresses and lodged an FIR against two of them for 'vulgar dances'. These dancers are facing bans of up to 10 years. "More than 10 mega commercial theatres of Lahore have been sealed for promoting obscenity through women dancers," Punjab government Spokesperson and Information Minister Amir Mir said on Saturday. He said that drama producers had given written assurances that they would not promote obscenity through women dancers. However, indecency continued, forcing the government to seal the theatres. Mir said that monitoring of theatres in other parts of Punjab is underway, and similar action will be initiated on 'vulgar dance performances.' Mir, who is the brother of known ancho

Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League urge Prez Alvi to step down

Ministry of Law and Justice said a bill is sent to the president under the Constitution's Article 75 and he has two options - either approve it or return it with objections

Price of petro products in Pak likely to be increased by PKR 20: Report

The price of petroleum products in Pakistan is likely to witness a rise by Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 20 per litre, Pakistan-based ARY News reported citing sources. As per the details, the price of crude oil has increased from USD 86 to USD 91 per barrel due to the rise in petroleum products' global prices. In addition, a premium charge of USD 2 per barrel has been applied to crude oil. The per litre price of both petrol and diesel has increased from USD 97 to USD 102, demonstrating an upward trend, ARY News reported. If these prices persist, the price of petrol could potentially witness a rise of PKR 15 per litre, while the cost of diesel might see a surge of PKR 20 per litre, across the nation.During its tenure, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government increased the cost of petroleum products and the prices reached as high as PKR 129.25 per litre for petrol, according to ARY News report. Meanwhile, the basic electricity tariff was increased by up to PKR 15.41 per ...

Pak Railways suspend six officers for negligence that led to train accident

Pakistan Railways has suspended six officials, including a divisional engineer and a works manager, for their alleged negligence that led to a major train accident in the country's Sindh province that killed at least 34 people. Speaking in the National Assembly, Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique revealed details about the unfortunate incident, placing the blame on the damaged track for the derailment of the ill-fated train. The Hazara Express train travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed on Sunday in Nawabshah district near the Sarhari Railway Station, 275 kilometres from the provincial capital Karachi. In response to the tragic accident, six railway officials have been suspended, and financial compensation worth Rs 1.5 million each has been announced for the families of the victims. Speaking during Tuesday's assembly session, Rafique said that the investigations into the accident were underway and the report would be finalised in a few days. Explainin

ODI World Cup: Pakistan panel likely to visit India to review security

The committee headed by foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto might not take a tough stand stance on Pakistan's participation in ICC ODI World Cup in India

Shehbaz Sharif to step down as Pak PM before next month; all you must know

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif said that he will hand over power to a caretaker government on August 14, paving the way for general elections

Layyah land scam: Punjab anti-corruption body summons Imran Khan on Jun 19

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has been asked to appear before the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) of Punjab on Monday in connection with a case related to the purchase of over 5,000 kanals (625 acres) of land at throwaway prices through fraud in the country's Punjab province. The ACE has sent summonses to Khan, his sister Uzma Khan and her husband Ahad Majeed in the Layyah land corruption case, a spokesperson of the ACE said on Saturday.

Chinese power companies accuse Pakistan govt of defaulting on pay

The Chinese independent power producers (IPPs) say that by not paying billions of rupees of dues, it is Islamabad that has defaulted