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Pakistan announces price cap for Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

A woman receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Karachi on March 10, 2021. (AFP)
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Updated 21 March 2021
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Pakistan announces price cap for Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

  • Maximum sale price of Sputnik V is fixed at Rs8,449 ($54) for two doses, local media reports
  • Drug regulator recommends the price of imported vaccines as landed cost plus a 40% markup
Updated 21 March 2021
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has announced a price cap for shots of the privately imported Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the local media reported on Sunday.

A private pharmaceutical company, AGP Limited, last week imported the first shipment of 50,000 doses of the Russian vaccine to Pakistan.

In February, Pakistan said it would allow private companies to import coronavirus vaccines and agreed to exempt such imports from price caps, but on Thursday the country's health chief said that decision was being reversed and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) would recommend a price, which the cabinet would approve.

"The government has fixed the maximum sale price of Sputnik V Russian vaccine at Rs8,449 ($54) for two doses," the Express Tribune reported, quoting a health ministry circular issued on Saturday.

According to the report, China’s Convidecia vaccine produced by CansinoBio, will cost maximum Rs4,225 per injection.

China’s Sinopharm and CansinoBio, Sputnik-V and the British AstraZeneca vaccines are approved for emergency use in Pakistan, whose government has not secured any vaccine from manufacturing companies yet and is relying so far on donations. 

The Russian vaccine that arrived in Karachi on Wednesday night is the first private batch purchased and imported by a private company.

Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar, director-general of health at the Ministry of National Health Services and Regulations, said that following a request from AGP Limited, a DRAP pricing committee had on Friday recommended the price tag for each dose of the vaccine and forwarded the recommendation to the federal cabinet for approval.

"DRAP has submitted a summary to fix price; that requires approval of the cabinet," Safdar told Arab News."

A DRAP notification, which is available with Arab News, recommends a price formula for imported vaccines as the vaccine's landed cost plus a 40% markup.  

The maximum retail price will be calculated by "grossing up trade price to provide for retail discount at 15%," according to the notification.

Levies will "not exceed 10% of the cost of freight price by the importer."

A spokesperson for DRAP said a “robust mechanism” was in place to ensure the vaccine would only be sold at the government-fixed price.

“Let me tell you that the Sputnik vaccine won’t be available over the counter as it will be inoculated through government-authorized facilities only, at a fixed price,” Akhtar Abbas, DRAP spokesperson, told Arab News.

He ruled out any possibility of the black marketing of the vaccine: “This will be available through the government authorized mechanism only, and thus absolutely no chance of any black market (deals).”

The South Asian nation of 220 million rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination for frontline health care workers in the first week of February after receiving a donation of 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China. This month, it started vaccinating people above the age of 60. On Wednesday, the government received another Chinese donation of 500,000 million doses of the Sinopharm.

According to official data, the government has vaccinated more than 450,000 people so far across the country.

Pakistan is also expected to receive its first shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine this month through the COVAX vaccine sharing initiative for poorer nations.

Topics: CORONAVIRUS PAKISTAN Sputnik V Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Pakistan set to hold rates as Israel-Iran conflict overshadows growth push

Updated 8 sec ago
Reuters
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Pakistan set to hold rates as Israel-Iran conflict overshadows growth push

  • Several brokerages initially expected a cut but revised their forecasts after Israeli strikes sparked fears of a broader conflict
  • Escalating hostilities triggered a sharp spike in oil prices, a worry for Pakistan given the broader impact on imported inflation
Updated 8 sec ago
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank is expected to hold its policy rate on Monday, a Reuters poll showed, as many analysts shifted their previous view of a cut in the wake of Israel’s military strike on Iran, citing inflation risks from rising global commodity prices.

Israel said on Friday it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders in a “preemptive strike” to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

Several brokerages had initially expected a cut but revised their forecasts after the Israeli strikes sparked fears of a broader conflict. The escalating hostilities triggered a sharp spike in oil prices — a worry for Pakistan given the broader impact on imported inflation from a potentially prolonged conflict and tightening of crude supplies.

Eleven of 14 respondents in a snap poll expected the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to leave the benchmark rate unchanged at 12 percent. Two forecast a 100 basis-point cut and one predicted a 50 bps cut.

“There remains an upside risk of a rise in global commodity prices in light of geopolitical tensions which could mark a return to inflationary pressures,” said Ahmad Mobeen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“The resultant higher import bill could also threaten external sector performance and bring pressure to the exchange rate.”

Inflation in the South Asian country has been declining for several months after it soared to around 40 percent in May 2023.

Last month, however, inflation picked up to 3.5 percent, above the finance ministry’s projection of up to 2 percent, partly due to the fading of the year-go base effects. The SBP expects average inflation between 5.5 percent and 7.5 percent for the fiscal year ending June.

The central bank paused its easing cycle in March after cumulative cuts of 1,000 basis points from a record high of 22 percent, and resumed it with a 100-basis-point reduction in May.

The policy meeting follows the release a tight annual budget, which saw Pakistan raise defense spending by 20 percent but overall expenditure was reduced by 7 percent, with GDP growth forecast at 4.2 percent.

Pakistan says its $350 billion economy has stabilized under a $7 billion IMF bailout that had helped it staved a default threat.

Some analysts are skeptical of the government’s ability to reach the growth target amid fiscal and external challenges.

Abdul Azeem, head of research at Al Habib Capital Markets, which forecast a 50-bp cut, said a lower rate could “support the GDP target of 4.2 percent and reduce the debt financing burden.”

Topics: Pakistan Iran Ties

‘Unjustified attacks,’ says Pakistan as Israel launches widescale strikes on Iran

Updated 13 June 2025
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‘Unjustified attacks,’ says Pakistan as Israel launches widescale strikes on Iran

  • Israel says it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders
  • Iran had launched about 100 drones in retaliation, Israeli military spokesman says
Updated 13 June 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday condemned Israel’s “unjustified” attacks against Iran, warning that it undermines regional stability hours after Tel Aviv targeted the country’s nuclear program and raised the potential for an all-out war between the two Middle East adversaries.

Israel launched strikes on Tehran early Friday, with black smoke being seen rising from the nation’s main nuclear enrichment facility. Multiple sites around the country were hit, with the leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported. The development would serve as a body blow to Tehran’s governing theocracy and an immediate escalation of the nations’ long-simmering conflict.

Israeli leaders cast the preemptive assault as a fight for the nation’s survival and necessary to head off what they described as an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. It remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that.

“Strongly condemn unjustified Israeli attacks on Islamic Republic of Iran which is a brazen violation of Iran’s sovereignty,” Dar wrote on social media platform X.

Dar said the “abhorrent action” had violated international law and “gravely undermines” regional stability and international security.

“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Government & the people of Iran,” he added.

In a separate statement, Pakistan’s foreign office said Iran has the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

“The international community and the United Nations bear responsibility to uphold international law, stop this aggression immediately and hold the aggressor accountable for its actions,” the statement read.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry also condemned the attack, saying that it violated international laws.

“While the Kingdom condemns these heinous attacks, it affirms that the international community and the (UN) Security Council bear a great responsibility to immediately halt this aggression,” the Saudi foreign ministry said.

Iran’s retaliation appeared to be underway immediately, as Israel’s military said Tehran had launched more than 100 drones toward its territory. All of Israel’s aerial defenses had been activated, military spokesperson Effie Defrin said, adding, “we’re expecting difficult hours.”

Iran’s state TV offered few details about Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who various international news websites reported had been killed, but said another top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also feared dead.

In Washington, the Trump administration, which had cautioned Israel against an attack during continued negotiations over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, said it had not been involved and warned against any retaliation targeting US interests or personnel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that Israel advised the US that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense.

“We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement released by the White House.

The potential for an attack had been apparent for weeks. President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he did not believe an attack was imminent but also acknowledged that it “could very well happen.” As tensions rose, the US pulled some diplomats from Iraq’s capital and offered voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East.

With additional input from Associated Press

Topics: Pakistan Iran Ties

Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report

Updated 13 June 2025
AFP
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Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report

  • US spent $56.8 billion in 2024, followed by China at $12.5 billion, says International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
  • ICAN says level of nuclear weapons spending in 2024 by these nine nations could have paid UN budget almost 28 times over
Updated 13 June 2025
AFP

GENEVA: Nuclear-armed states spent more than $100 billion on their atomic arsenals last year, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said Friday, lamenting the lack of democratic oversight of such spending.

ICAN said Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States together spent nearly $10 billion more than in 2023.

The United States spent $56.8 billion in 2024, followed by China at $12.5 billion and Britain at $10.4 billion, ICAN said in its flagship annual report.

Geneva-based ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its key role in drafting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which took effect in 2021.

Some 69 countries have ratified it to date, four more have directly acceded to the treaty and another 25 have signed it, although none of the nuclear weapons states have come on board.

This year’s report looked at the costs incurred by the countries that host other states’ nuclear weapons.

It said such costs are largely unknown to citizens and legislators alike, thereby avoiding democratic scrutiny.

Although not officially confirmed, the report said Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkiye were hosting US nuclear weapons, citing experts.

Meanwhile Russia claims it has nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, but some experts are unsure, it added.

The report said there was “little public information” about the costs associated with hosting US nuclear weapons in NATO European countries, citing the cost of facility security, nuclear-capable aircraft and preparation to use such weapons.

“Each NATO nuclear-sharing arrangement is governed by secret agreements,” the report said.

“It’s an affront to democracy that citizens and lawmakers are not allowed to know that nuclear weapons from other countries are based on their soil or how much of their taxes is being spent on them,” said the report’s co-author Alicia Sanders-Zakre.

Eight countries openly possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, although it has never officially acknowledged this.

ICAN said the level of nuclear weapons spending in 2024 by these nine nations could have paid the UN budget almost 28 times over.

“The problem of nuclear weapons is one that can be solved, and doing so means understanding the vested interests fiercely defending the option for nine countries to indiscriminately murder civilians,” said ICAN’s program coordinator Susi Snyder.

The private sector earned at least $42.5 billion from their nuclear weapons contracts in 2024 alone, the report said.

There are at least $463 billion in ongoing nuclear weapons contracts, some of which do not expire for decades, and last year, at least $20 billion in new nuclear weapon contracts were awarded, it added.

“Many of the companies that benefited from this largesse invested heavily in lobbying governments, spending $128 million on those efforts in the United States and France, the two countries for which data is available,” ICAN said.

Standard nuclear doctrine — developed during the Cold War between superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union — is based on the assumption that such weapons will never have to be used because their impact is so devastating, and because nuclear retaliation would probably bring similar destruction on the original attacker.

Pakistan’s Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to present budgets 2025-26 today

Updated 13 June 2025
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Pakistan’s Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to present budgets 2025-26 today

  • Pakistan’s federal government announced its budget 2025-26, with total outlay of $62 billion, on Tuesday
  • Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, who also holds finance portfolio, will present budget at 3:00 pm, says state media
Updated 13 June 2025
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces will present their annual budgets for the fiscal year 2025-26 today, Friday, in their respective assemblies, state-run media reported.

The development will take place a few days after Pakistan’s central government announced the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 with a total outlay of Rs7.57 trillion ($62 billion). Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget in parliament on Tuesday, which allocates Rs2.55 trillion ($9 billion) for defense spending in FY26, compared to Rs2.12 trillion in the fiscal year ending this month.

Pakistan’s provincial governments announce their annual budgets typically a few days after the federal government. KP Minister for Finance Aftab Alam Afridi will present the budget in the KP Assembly at 3:00 pm, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

“In Sindh, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of finance will present the budget in Sindh assembly in Karachi at three in the afternoon,” the report said.

The state media said Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province will announce its budget on Monday.

The federal government announced a significant income tax relief for the salaried class in its budget earlier this week, aiming to ease the burden on people amid high inflation and economic uncertainty. The income tax rate for individuals earning between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2 million ($2,128–$4,255) annually would be cut from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.

“For those earning up to Rs22,000,000 [$7,788], the tax rate has been proposed at 11 percent instead of 15 percent. Similarly, those who earn a higher salary, there is a proposition of tax reduction,” Aurangzeb said.

“For those who are earning between Rs22,000,000 [$7,788] up to Rs32,000,000 [$11,328], the tax rate has been proposed to be reduced from 25 percent to 23 percent,” he added.

For high-income earners making over Rs10 million ($35,460) annually, a 1 percent reduction in the additional surcharge has been recommended to help curb the ongoing brain drain, the minister said.

BUDGET 2025-26 HIGHLIGHTS:

GDP/DEFICIT

* GDP growth projected to be 4.2 percent

* Nominal GDP seen at 129.57 trillion rupees

* Fiscal deficit expected to be 3.9 percent of GDP

* Targets primary surplus of 2.4 percent of GDP

INFLATION

* Targets inflation at 7.5 percent

EXPENDITURE

* Total spending seen at 17.57 trillion rupees

* Defense expenditure of 2.55 trillion rupees targeted

* Interest payments projected at 8.21 trillion rupees

REVENUE

* Total gross revenue of 19.28 trillion rupees targeted

* Targets total tax revenue of 14.1 trillion rupees

* Aiming for net external receipts of 106 billion rupees

($1 = 282.0000 Pakistani rupees)

Topics: Pakistan Budget 2025-26

In a Pakistan valley, a small revolution among women

Updated 13 June 2025
AFP
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In a Pakistan valley, a small revolution among women

  • Woman-led carpentry shop in Hunza Valley has trained around 100 women since 2008, employs 22 people
  • Experts say high literacy rate driving socio-economic progress of women in Hunza compared to rest of Pakistan
Updated 13 June 2025
AFP

KARIMABAD, Pakistan: In a sawdust-filled workshop nestled in the Karakoram Mountains, a team of women carpenters chisel away at cabinets — and forge an unlikely career for themselves in Pakistan.

Women make up just a fraction of Pakistan’s formal workforce. But in a collection of villages sprinkled along the old Silk Road between China and Afghanistan, a group of women-led businesses is defying expectations.

“We have 22 employees and have trained around 100 women,” said Bibi Amina, who launched her carpentry workshop in 2008 at the age of 30.

Hunza Valley’s population of around 50,000, spread across mountains abounding with apricot, cherry, walnut and mulberry orchards, follow the Ismaili branch of Shiite Islam.

Ismailis are led by the Aga Khan, a hereditary position held by a family with Pakistani roots now living in Europe.

The family opened a girls’ school in Hunza in 1946, kickstarting an educational investment that pushed the valley’s literacy rate to 97 percent for both men and women. That rate far outstrips the country average of around 68 percent for men and 52.8 percent for women.

As a result, attitudes have shifted, and women like Amina are taking expanded roles.

“People thought women were there to wash dishes and do laundry,” Amina said of the generation before her.

Trained by the Aga Khan Foundation to help renovate the ancient Altit Fort, Amina later used her skills to start her own business. Her carpenters are currently at work on a commission from a luxury hotel.

Only 23 percent of the women in Pakistan were officially part of the labor force as of 2024, according to data from the World Bank.

In rural areas, women rarely take on formal employment but often toil in the fields to support the family’s farming income.

In a Gallup poll published last year, a third of women respondents said their father or husband forbade them from taking a job, while 43.5 percent said they had given up work to devote themselves to domestic tasks.

Cafe owner Lal Shehzadi spearheaded women’s restaurant entrepreneurship in Hunza.

She opened her cafe at the top of a winding high street to supplement her husband’s small army pension.

Sixteen years later, her simple set-up overlooking the valley has become a popular night-time tourist attraction. She serves visitors traditional cuisine, including yak meat, apricot oil and rich mountain cheese.

“At the start, I used to work alone,” she said. “Now, 11 people work here and most of them are women. And my children are also working here.”

Following in Shehzadi’s footsteps, Safina quit her job to start her own restaurant around a decade ago.

“No one wanted to help me,” she said. Eventually, she convinced family members to sell two cows and a few goats for the money she needed to launch her business.

Now, she earns the equivalent of around $170 a month, more than 15 times her previous income.

The socio-economic progress of women in Hunza compared to other rural areas of Pakistan has been driven by three factors, according to Sultan Madan, the head of the Karakoram Area Development Organization and a local historian.

“The main reason is the very high literacy rate,” he told AFP, largely crediting the Aga Khan Foundation for funding training programs for women.

“Secondly, agriculture was the backbone of the economy in the region, but in Hunza the landholding was meager and that was why women had to work in other sectors.”

Women’s increased economic participation has spilled into other areas of life, like sports fields.

“Every village in the valley has a women’s soccer team: Gojal, Gulmit, Passu, Khyber, Shimsal,” said Nadia Shams, 17.

On a synthetic pitch, she trains with her teammates in jogging pants or shorts, forbidden elsewhere by Pakistan’s dress code.

Here, one name is on everyone’s lips: Malika-e-Noor, the former vice-captain of the national team who scored the winning penalty against the Maldives in the 2010 South Asian Women’s Football Championship.

Fahima Qayyum was six years old when she witnessed the killer kick.

Today, after several international matches, she is recruiting the next generation.

“As a girl, I stress to others the importance of playing, as sport is very good for health,” she told AFP.

“If they play well, they can also get scholarships.”

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