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  • Saudi FM’s visit part of ‘concerted efforts’ to close investment deals — Pakistani envoy to Riyadh 


Saudi FM’s visit part of ‘concerted efforts’ to close investment deals — Pakistani envoy to Riyadh 

This handout photograph taken on April 16, 2024 and released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) shows Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) speaking with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan upon his arrival at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. (PID)
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Updated 17 April 2024
Lama Alhamawi
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Saudi FM’s visit part of ‘concerted efforts’ to close investment deals — Pakistani envoy to Riyadh 

  • Ahmed Farooq says size and rank of Saudi delegation showed “keenness” of economic engagement plans with Pakistan
  • Saudi delegation briefed about Pakistani legal, procedural, administrative reforms undertaken to facilitate investments
Updated 17 April 2024
Lama Alhamawi

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud’s visit to Pakistan this week is part of “concerted efforts” to close investment deals that have been under discussion between the two nations in recent years and also discuss new areas of cooperation, Islamabad’s envoy to Riyadh Ahmed Farooq has said. 

Prince Faisal arrived in Pakistan on Monday on a two-day visit aimed at enhancing bilateral economic cooperation and pushing forward previously agreed investment deals. His trip came a little over a week after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Makkah and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite investments worth $5 billion.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.

Speaking to Arab News on Tuesday, Ambassador Farooq said during Sharif’s recent meeting with the Saudi crown prince, it was decided that the Kingdom would expand its collaboration with Pakistan across various sectors. Both countries also agreed on a roadmap for expediting investments from Saudi Arabia into strategic sectors of the Pakistan economy.

“Guided by this clear direction of the leadership, the economic teams of the two countries are now in advance talks to finalize partnership proposals in diverse sectors such as energy, renewables, connectivity, mining, agriculture, information technology, construction, human resource development and export and strategic investments,” Farooq said.

“Concerted efforts are underway to close the deals that have remained under discussion in recent years, while identifying new areas of cooperation.”

It was as part of such efforts that Prince Faisal visited Pakistan, the ambassador added, accompanied by a team of top officials across Saudi ministries. 

“The size and rank of the visiting delegation showed the keenness with which the Kingdom is pursuing economic engagement plans with Pakistan,” Farooq said. 

Among key highlights of the visit, apart from bilateral meetings between the economic teams, was a special interactive session organized by the newly established Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), set up last year to oversee all foreign investments in Pakistan. 

“Several short, medium, and long-term projects were discussed in the dedicated sector-wise breakout sessions,” the envoy said. “The Saudi delegation was also briefed about the specific legal, procedural and administrative reforms undertaken by Pakistan in recent months to attract and facilitate foreign investments in key sectors of the economy.”

“BEDROCK OF SUPPORT”

Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and signal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing that has been a key demand in previous bailout packages. Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, is currently in Washington to participate in spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and discuss a new bailout program. A $3 billion ongoing loan deal expires this month.

Saudi Arabia has often come to cash-strapped Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up its forex reserves.

“For Pakistan, Saudi Arabia has remained a bedrock of support,” Farooq told Arab News when asked about cooperation between the two nations.

“The kingdom has always supported Pakistan and provided much needed economic support and assistance. Kingdom has also played a critical role in helping us with international financial institutions.

“Even today, the Kingdom has a central role in the future economic plans of Pakistan. The new government in Pakistan has a strong desire to attract Saudi investment – both from the public and private sectors – to usher in a new era of economic growth and development.”

Farooq said the Saudi leadership was also keen on seizing this opportunity and further enhancing economic, political and security cooperation with Pakistan.

He said there were many areas for future collaboration including energy, renewables, IT, mining, agriculture, construction, and human resource development and export.

Asked about how investment between the two nations could be further enhanced, Farooq said Pakistan had created SIFC to act as a one window operation to facilitate Saudi and other foreign investments. 

“It is tailor made for this purpose,” he added. “We are developing a lot of projects across all sectors of the economy in which the Saudi public and private sector can invest. 

The Kingdom has shown great keenness and desire to work with Pakistan and realize these projects. I am confident that we will soon see a lot of investment going from Saudi Arabia into Pakistan.”

Topics: Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud Pakistan Saudi Ties

Pakistan to launch ‘historic’ lunar mission aboard China’s Chang’e 6 on May 3

Updated 6 sec ago
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Pakistan to launch ‘historic’ lunar mission aboard China’s Chang’e 6 on May 3

  • Pakistan’s Institute of Space Technology has built ICUBE-Q in collaboration with Shanghai University and SUPARCO
  • The student-built payload carries two optical cameras to image lunar surface and will be part of China’s mission to the Moon
Updated 6 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is scheduled to send its “historic” lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) on board China’s Chang’e6 which is scheduled to be launched on May 3, reported the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency on Tuesday.
ICUBE-Q has been designed and developed by the Institute of Space Technology in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.
“ICUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface,” the APP reported. “Following successful qualification and testing, ICUBE-Q has now been integrated with the Chang’e 6 mission.”
China is set to launch a first ever attempt to collect samples from the far side of the Moon.
The Chinese mission aims to grab samples containing material ejected from the lunar mantle and thus provide insight into the history of the Moon, Earth and Solar System.
According to the website of the Institute of Space Technology, China’s national space agency allowed Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization member states to send student-built payload to the Moon with its mission.
The Pakistani institution built a device that was selected for the purpose after rigorous evaluation.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties

At least 143 killed in Pakistan’s unusually heavy April rains

Updated 7 min 42 sec ago
AFP
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At least 143 killed in Pakistan’s unusually heavy April rains

  • Pakistan has become vulnerable to unpredictable weather, often-destructive monsoon rains that usually arrive in July
  • The largest death toll for April was in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where 83 people died, including 38 children
Updated 7 min 42 sec ago
AFP

ISLAMABAD: At least 143 people died in Pakistan from lightning strikes and other storm-related incidents in April, with the country receiving more than twice as much rain as usual for the month, officials said Tuesday.
April brought flash floods, landslides and inclement weather that caused houses to collapse in some areas and destroyed crops in others.
Pakistan saw a rainfall “increase of 164 percent above the normal levels in April, which is very unusual,” said Zaheer Ahmad Babar, spokesperson for the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
“We’ve observed these erratic weather patterns as a direct result of climate change,” he told AFP.
Pakistan is increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable weather, as well as often-destructive monsoon rains that usually arrive in July.
The largest death toll for April was in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 83 people died, including 38 children, and where more than 3,500 homes have been damaged.
“The fatalities resulted from roof collapse and landslide incidents,” Anwar Shahzad, spokesman for the province’s disaster management authority, told AFP on Tuesday.
In some northern parts of Punjab, the country’s most populous province, harvests of wheat, a staple food, were spoiled by hailstorms.
Environmental expert Maryam Shabbir Abbasi told AFP that overall weather patterns had shifted by “about a month and a half, and we should shift our calendars for the agriculture sector accordingly to avoid damages caused by unprecedented rainfall.”
Officials earlier this month said several people, including farmers harvesting wheat, were killed by lightning in Punjab, and that a total of 21 people were killed in different rain-related incidents.
Another 21 deaths were reported in Balochistan province in April, including seven people who were struck by lightning, with rain disrupting life in some districts and causing school closures.
In parts of Azad Kashmir, 14 people were killed, and at least four were killed in road accidents linked to floods in southern Sindh province.
In the summer of 2022, a third of Pakistan was submerged by unprecedented monsoon rains that displaced millions of people and cost the country $30 billion in damages and economic losses, according to a World Bank estimate.
As several parts of the country were battered by heavy rains this month, Karachi, the largest city, experienced its hottest day of the year on Sunday, with temperatures soaring to 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit).

Topics: Pakistan Floods

Pakistan reduces petrol and diesel prices amid favorable global energy market conditions

Updated 30 min 45 sec ago
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Pakistan reduces petrol and diesel prices amid favorable global energy market conditions

  • The government has announced to bring down the petrol and diesel prices by Rs5.45 and Rs8.42 respectively
  • Rising fuel cost in Pakistan led to inflationary pressure in economy, though things are said to be improving
Updated 30 min 45 sec ago
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: The government announced a reduction in the petrol price in Pakistan by Rs5.45 per liter on Tuesday night, bringing the overall rate down to Rs288.49 for the next 15 days following a recommendation of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).
Pakistan typically adjusts petroleum prices on a fortnightly basis, taking into account fluctuations in the international energy market and the rupee-dollar exchange rate.
According to an official notification, the diesel price has also seen a downward revision of Rs8.42 per liter, setting it at Rs281.96.
“The prices of Petroleum products have seen a decreasing trend in the international market during the last fortnight,” the notification announced. “The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out the consumer prices, based on the price variations in the international market. The prices of Motor Spirit [petrol] & HSD [high-speed diesel] for the next fortnight, starting from 1st May, 2024, are accordingly being lowered.”
Earlier, the government increased the petrol and diesel prices by Rs4.5 and Rs8.1 per liter, respectively, on April 15.
Pakistan significantly increased fuel prices after securing a short-term, $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year.
The rising rates also led to spiraling inflation in the country, though the government started offering relief to the people by gradually bringing down the petroleum prices.
Pakistan is in the process of securing yet another IMF loan which is expected to be bigger in terms of size and duration.

Topics: Petrol price in Pakistan

Rana Sanaullah, another Nawaz Sharif loyalist, appointed adviser to Pakistan PM

Updated 01 May 2024
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Rana Sanaullah, another Nawaz Sharif loyalist, appointed adviser to Pakistan PM

  • Sanaullah’s appointment comes two days after foreign minister Ishaq Dar was named deputy prime minister
  • Analysts believe the appointments indicate Nawaz Sharif is trying to assert indirect control over the government
Updated 01 May 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday appointed Rana Sanaullah adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to a post on the Pakistan president’s official account on platform X.
Sanaullah is considered a close aide of PM Sharif’s elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, who is also a three-time former prime minister.
Sanaullah has previously served as the federal interior minister and provincial law minister for Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province.
“President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the appointment of Rana Sanaullah Khan as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs,” read the post on President Zardari’s official social media account.
“The President approved the appointment of Rana Sanaullah Khan on the advice of the Prime Minister under Article 93 (a) of the Constitution.”
Sanaullah’s appointment comes two days after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was named the country’s deputy prime minister. Dar, a 73-year-old chartered accountant, is another close Nawaz Sharif ally.
The elder Sharif, who returned to Pakistan in October 2023 after years of self-exile, was widely seen as the favorite candidate for the prime minister’s office ahead of the February 8 national polls, and was believed to be backed by the country’s powerful army.
However, the three-time former prime minister decided against taking the PM’s office after the elections failed to produce a clear winner, leading to speculation that his role in the country’s politics had come to an end.
Analysts widely believe that the recent appointments of Dar and Sanaullah indicate Nawaz Sharif is attempting to assert control over the government through indirect means.

Topics: Rana Sanaullah

Pakistan to block mobile connections of over 500,000 individuals for not filing tax returns

Updated 30 April 2024
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Pakistan to block mobile connections of over 500,000 individuals for not filing tax returns

  • In December, the Federal Board of Revenue said Pakistan had around 5.2 million taxpayers in 2022, out of a population of 240 million people
  • The government has decided to digitalize tax collection system to prevent leakages even as large segment of economy remains undocumented
Updated 30 April 2024
KHURSHID AHMED   

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to block mobile phone connections of more than 500,000 individuals who had not filed their income tax returns for Tax Year 2023, the country’s tax regulator said on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s narrow tax base and enduring tax evasion issue have often led to the problem of insufficient revenue collection. The shortfall exacerbates the government’s tendency to run a high fiscal deficit, often financed through domestic and international borrowing.

In Dec., the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said the country had a “very narrow tax base” of around 5.2 million people in 2022, out of a population of 240 million people and it had planned to add 1.5 million new taxpayers to the existing base during this fiscal year.

On Tuesday, the FBR issued an order to enforce filing of returns by the persons who were not appearing on the active taxpayer list.

“FBR has taken decisive action by issuing an order to disable mobile phone SIMs associated with 506,671 individuals who fall under the aforementioned category,” the regulator said in a statement.

“The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and all telecom operators have been instructed to enforce the ITGO with immediate effect, ensuring swift implementation of the order.”

These mobile connections would remain blocked until restored by the FBR or the concerned Inland Revenue commissioner, according to the statement. Telecom operators were asked to furnish a compliance report to the FBR by May 15.

Amid its efforts to broaden the tax base, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has recently decided to digitalize the tax collection system to prevent leakages even as a large segment of the national economy remains undocumented.

Pakistan, which has been facing an economic meltdown, is also making efforts to introduce structural economic reforms. The South Asian country has to meet a primary budget deficit target of Rs401 billion ($1.44 billion), or 0.4 percent of its gross domestic product, for the current fiscal year before the government presents its budget in June.

Topics: mobile connections Federal Board of Revenue tax returns

Latest updates

Pakistan to launch ‘historic’ lunar mission aboard China’s Chang’e 6 on May 3
At least 143 killed in Pakistan’s unusually heavy April rains
Pakistan reduces petrol and diesel prices amid favorable global energy market conditions
Rana Sanaullah, another Nawaz Sharif loyalist, appointed adviser to Pakistan PM
Europe to launch chamber of commerce in Riyadh

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