Page 38 - Pakistan

IMF downgrades Pakistan's GDP growth outlook for 2025 from 3.2% to 3%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised cash-strapped Pakistan's economic outlook, downgrading its projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2025 to 3%, down from 3.2% forecasted just three months ago, according to a media report on Saturday. The adjustment comes amid a broader global economic assessment presented in the IMF's "World Economic Outlook Update: Global Growth Divergent and Uncertain", The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The IMF's revised projections also indicate that Pakistan's GDP growth will remain at 4% in 2026. However, the latest downgrade reflects ongoing economic challenges in the country, although the IMF did not provide specific reasons for the revision. This latest revision mirrors the forecast made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) last month, which also adjusted Pakistan's growth forecast to 3% for the fiscal year 2024-25, up from a previously projected 2.8%. Both institutions have cited challenges faced by Pakistan's economy but h

Al-Qadir Trust case: Former Pak PM Imran Khan sentenced to 14 yrs in prison

Ex Pakistan PM Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were convicted for their roles in the 190 mn British Pounds Al-Qadir Trust case, involving illicit land and funds transfers linked to Bahria Town

China successfully launches Pakistani satellite 'PRSC-EO1' into space

China successfully launched a Pakistani satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Friday. The satellite, named PRSC-EO1, was launched at 12:07 p.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-2D carrier rocket and entered its planned orbit successfully, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The rocket also carried two other satellites - Tianlu-1 and Lantan-1. This launch marked the 556th flight mission involving the Long March carrier rocket series. China has been launching satellites for Pakistan in the last few years broadening their all-weather alliance into the space arena. Last year, China launched a multi-mission communication satellite for Pakistan. In 2018, China sent two Pakistan satellites into orbit. The PRSS-1, Pakistan's first optical remote sensing satellite, and the PakTES-1A, a smaller observation craft.

Boat carrying migrants capsizes near Morocco; over 40 Pakistanis dead

Pakistan on Thursday said that a boat carrying 80 migrants attempting to reach Spain capsized near Morocco, with over 40 Pakistanis reportedly among the dead. Migrant rights group Walking Borders said as many as 50 migrants may have drowned. Moroccan authorities rescued 36 people a day earlier from a boat that had left Mauritania on January 2 with 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis. Forty-four of those presumed to have drowned were from Pakistan, Walking Borders CEO Helena Maleno said on X. They spent 13 days of anguish on the crossing without anyone coming to rescue them, she said. The Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement that its embassy in Morocco was in touch with the local authorities. Our Embassy in Rabat (Morocco) has informed us that a boat carrying 80 passengers, including several Pakistani nationals, setting off from Mauritania, has capsized near the Moroccan port of Dakhla. Several survivors, including Pakistanis, are lodged in a camp near Dakhla, it said. It

Pakistan cuts charging stations' power tariff by 45% to boost EV adoption

The government is also planning to introduce financing schemes for e-bikes and the conversion of two- and three-wheeled petrol vehicles

Pakistan orders probe after airline ad gets flak for evoking 9/11 memories

Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a probe into a PIA ad that sparked outrage for resembling 9/11 visuals

Human rights activist warns over abduction of nuclear engineers in Pakistan

Additionally, Mirza criticized the lack of an immediate response, such as deploying helicopters to pursue the abductors. He described the security lapse as highly suspicious

Pakistan's Peshawar HC suspends deportation of 100 Afghan musicians

A high court in Peshawar has stopped the forcible deportation of over 100 Afghan musicians seeking political asylum in Pakistan and directed the federal government to decide their cases in two months. A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) disposed of the case after hearing arguments on Friday and instructed security agencies not to take any action against them during the two months. The bench headed by Justice Waqar Ahmad gave the judgement during the hearing of the petition filed by Hashmatullah who argued they belonged to Afghanistan but migrated to Pakistan after the establishment of the Taliban government as their lives were under threat. The petitioner argued they had already lost their livelihoods and in Pakistan, they faced further harassment and threats of forced deportation, which they asserted is a violation of human rights. They argued that under international laws, the Pakistani government cannot forcibly deport them. The petitioner's lawyer Mumtaz Ahmad

Pakistan coal mine explosion leaves at least four dead, eight missing

A methane gas explosion caused a coal mine to collapse in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, killing at least four miners, authorities said, as officials launched a search operation to rescue eight other missing workers. The coal mine collapsed on January 9 in the Sanjdi area located around 40 kilometers from Quetta in the Balochistan province. The mine collapsed due to a methane gas accumulation and explosion leaving 12 workers trapped inside the collapsed structure. The incident occurred due to a buildup of gas, which caused an explosion and the mine to cave in, Balochistan government spokesperson, Shahid Rind said on Saturday. He said full-scale rescue operations were ongoing for more than 24 hours, but due to the presence of toxic gas and debris, progress was slow. Rind confirmed that on Friday evening the rescue workers succeeded in recovering four bodies from the mine. Abdullah Shawani, the head of the province's mining department conceded that chances of recovering t

4 civilians injured in IED blast targeting paramilitary forces in Pakistan

Militants targeted a truck carrying paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) personnel with an improvised explosive device in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, injuring four civilians, police said on Saturday. The attack happened in the Chaman city of the province on Friday. Police officials said the militants used an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting the truck but no FC personnel were injured. The IED was planted on a motorcycle on the roadside and when the truck passed from there, it was triggered remotely, one police official said. Rabia Tariq, public relations officer for the Balochistan inspector general of police's office, also confirmed the incident. A statement from Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind condemned the blast as a cowardly act, adding that the government was committed to protecting the people and would thwart the plans of all elements against peace. The last three days have seen a sharp spike in attacks from the banned separatist group the

Militants hit Pak minister, police officer's homes in Balochistan

Armed militants attacked the residences of a senior minister and a deputy commissioner and stormed a police checkpost in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, police said. A senior police official said armed militants attacked the residence of Balochistan Minister for Finance and Mineral Resources Mir Shoaib Nosherwani with a hand grenade in his native town of Kharan late on Thursday night. The armed men came on motorcycles and drove away after hurling the hand grenade, he said. No casualty has been reported in the incident, he said. In a similar incident, the militants attacked the residence of the Kalat deputy commissioner with a hand grenade on Thursday night, injuring one police constable on duty at the gate. In the third incident, the armed militants attacked the police checkpost in Mastung town on Thursday night and set fire to machinery and equipment of a cement factory in the vicinity before escaping the scene, authorities said. A police official confirmed the attack t

258 Pak citizens deported from 7 countries, 16 arrested in Karachi

As many as 258 Pakistanis were deported from seven countries, including Saudi Arabia, the (UAE), and China in the last 24 hours, officials said. A spokesperson of the Immigration department at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport said, among them, 14 had Pakistani passports, while 244 were deported on emergency travel documents. We arrested 16 deportees at the Karachi airport, including one with a suspicious identity, while the rest were released after questioning, he said. He said nine of the persons deported from Saudi Arabia were professional beggars. Two of them were caught performing Hajj without permits and were sent back after completing their sentences, he added. He said that many of those deported from Saudi Arabia, and the UAE were working without sponsorship while four were deported on drug charges. One individual each was deported from China, Qatar, Indonesia, Cyprus, and Nigeria. The trend of deportations has been rising significantly, he said. In the past 24 hou

12 miners trapped after explosion in Pakistan's coal mine, rescue ongoing

At least 12 miners were trapped in Pakistan on Thursday after an explosion caused a coal mine collapse in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The mishap occurred in the Sanjdi area outside the capital city of Quetta. Chief Mines Officer Abdul Ghani Baloch said that a gas explosion caused a coal mine in the Sanjdi area to collapse from the inside, the Dawn newspaper reported. Efforts are being made to pull all the miners out alive, he said. In an official statement, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said rescue teams had arrived at the site. There are reports of twelve workers being trapped in the mine, Rind added. Balochistan Minister for Mining and Minerals Mir Shoaib Noshirwani ordered Chief Mines Officer Baloch to send two more teams to participate in rescue operations. If prevailing mining procedures were violated, legal action should be taken against the mine owner, Noshirwani warned, ordering rescuers to expedite efforts to extract the trapped miners.

Pakistan security forces rescue 8 of 16 mine workers abducted by militants

Pakistani security forces recovered at least eight out of 16 mine workers who were kidnapped by militants in the country's restive northwest Thursday morning, police and two security officials said. The operation was launched hours after insurgents ambushed and attacked the workers' vehicle in a narrow road in Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, police officer Mohammad Ijaz said. The attack occurred as the men were travelling from Lakki Marwat to a nearby mining project, Ijaz said. He gave no further details. Other security officials said the mining project where the men worked is related to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, though the abducted workers are not its employees. They said an operation is still underway to recover the remaining workers. It was unclear whether those insurgents holding the men suffered casualties. No one from the commission was immediately available for comment. The latest development comes after militants se

Guests from 'undivided India' invited for celebration of IMD's 150 yrs

The government has invited officials from all countries, including Pakistan, that were once part of undivided India to mark 150 years of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal have been invited to join the celebrations. Representatives from the Middle East and Southwest Asia are also on the guest list. "We wanted officials from all countries which were part of undivided India at the time of IMD's establishment to be part of the celebrations," said a senior IMD official. While Pakistan has confirmed its participation, the IMD is still waiting to hear from Bangladesh. To make the celebrations memorable, the Ministry of Finance has approved a special Rs 150 commemorative coin. From marathons to exhibitions, workshops to olympiads, the festivities are expected to be as vibrant as India's weather itself. For the first time ever, the IMD will showcase its own tableau in the Republic Day

Malala Yousafzai to visit Pakistan for conference on girls' education

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai will be visiting Pakistan over the weekend to attend the international conference on girls' education in Muslim communities. Malala will be one of the keynote speakers at the two-day conference scheduled for January 11-12 here, The Express Tribune reported. This will be Malala's only third visit to Pakistan since she was flown to Britain for life-saving treatment in October 2012. She visited Pakistan in October 2022 to travel to her hometown for the first time since she was attacked. Malala was just 15 years old when the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) shot her in the head over her campaign for girls' education. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate the event and deliver the keynote address. One of the organisers of the conference told The Express Tribune that Malala confirmed her participation in the conference and would deliver a keynote address, highlighting the importance of girls' education in Muslim communities. The Ministry o

16 mining labourers abducted in Pak's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

At least 16 labourers working on a uranium and plutonium mining site in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were abducted by unknown armed men on Thursday, sources said. The labourers were abducted from a vehicle en route to the Atomic Energy Mine Project site in Lakki Marwat district. Later, the abductors set the vehicle on fire in the Qabal Khel area. The gunmen shifted the labourers to an undisclosed location. No group claimed responsibility for the abduction. The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is active in the area and has been blamed for such abductions in the past. The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, is believed to be close to al-Qaeda. The group has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan. This incident highlights the deteriorating security situation in the region. In July last year, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Department issued a travel advisory for government officials and employees in the Bannu ...

Imran Khan's PTI agrees to 3rd round of talks with govt to ease tensions

The development came a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders on Tuesday demanded unrestricted access to the party founder, Khan, as a precondition for engaging in the next round of talks

Pak govt takes Musk-style DOGE action, abolishes 150,000 jobs to cut costs

Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday announced that the federal government has decided to cut the number of affiliated agencies by half, abolishing 150,000 jobs, as part of a sweeping cost-cutting and efficiency drive. "We are reducing the federal government's size step by step. So far, 80 departments have been consolidated into 40," Aurangzeb said at a press conference where he highlighted the government's goal to complete these reforms by June 2025. He added that 60 per cent of vacant positions have been abolished, which comes to 150,000 government jobs. He said that right-sizing was part of the restructuring initiative launched in mid-2024 by a committee formed under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to rationalise expenditures and improve performance. According to the minister, the committee was to look into 43 ministries and their subordinate agencies. He said that the federal government's annual expenditure on these departments was Rs900 billion. He said tha

India condemns Pak's airstrikes on Afghanistan, blames internal failures

India on Monday "unequivocally" condemned Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan and said it is Islamabad's old practice to blame its neighbours for its internal failures. Pakistan carried out airstrikes in certain areas in Afghanistan in what it said was aimed at targeting some terrorist hideouts. "We have noted the media reports on airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including women and children, in which several precious lives have been lost. We unequivocally condemn any attack on innocent civilians," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "It is an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures. We have also noted the response of an Afghan spokesperson in this regard," he said.