ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new $7 billion loan program, the IMF said on Friday, the country’s latest move to turn to the global lender for assistance in keeping its fragile economy afloat.
Pakistan completed a short-term $3 billion IMF program in April this year, with the release of a final tranche of $1.1 billion. The facility helped Islamabad avert a default last year. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said his government planned to seek a longer-term loan from the IMF to help stabilize the $350 billion economy after the end of the last program.
The IMF said the new loan deal, which will span 37 months, was aimed at strengthening fiscal and monetary policy as well as reforms to broaden the tax base, improve management of state-owned enterprises, strengthen competition, secure investment, enhance human capital, and scale up social protection through increased generosity and coverage in major welfare programs.
“The program aims to capitalize on the hard-won macroeconomic stability achieved over the past year by furthering efforts to strengthen public finances, reduce inflation, rebuild external buffers and remove economic distortions to spur private sector-led growth,” IMF’s mission chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter said in a statement.
The deal, which is subject to approval by the IMF executive board, came after the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presented its first budget in parliament last month, promising an increase of up to 25 percent in salaries of government employees and setting an ambitious tax collection target.
The finance minister said Pakistan wanted to collect Rs13 trillion ($44 billion) in taxes, which would be 40 percent more than the last fiscal year’s. He said the government would ensure an increase in the number of taxpayers the country from the existing 5 million people who paid taxes in Pakistan.
Analysts said the new budget of about $68 billion, up from $50 billion in the last year, was likely to land a longer-term IMF bailout of up to $8 billion to help stabilize the economy.
Pakistan reaches new $7 billion loan deal with IMF, says lender
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Pakistan reaches new $7 billion loan deal with IMF, says lender
- The new loan deal, which will last for 37 months, is aimed at strengthening fiscal and monetary policy as well as reforms
- The program aims to capitalize on the hard-won macroeconomic stability achieved over the past year, says IMF’s mission chief
Pakistan declares Mar. 15 as ‘Day of Protection of Sanctity of Prophethood’
- Religion ministry spokesperson says initiative to curb rising incidents of blasphemy, sacrilegious content on social media
- Prominent religious scholars urged to devise comprehensive strategy against blasphemous content, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religion ministry has officially declared Mar. 15, 2025, as the “Day of Protection of the Sanctity of Prophethood” to address rising incidents of blasphemy and sacrilegious content online, state-run media reported on Monday.
Every year on Mar. 15 the world commemorates the “International Day to Combat Islamophobia” to stress the right to freedom of religion and belief and condemn incidents of blasphemy. Mar. 15 also marks the day when a gunman entered two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people and injuring 40 others in a hate crime against Muslims.
“The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has officially declared March 15, 2025, as the Day of Protection of the Sanctity of Prophethood (Yum-e-Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Peace Be Upon Him),” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Sunday.
As per the report, religious affairs ministry’s spokesperson Muhammad Umar Butt said the initiative will curb rising incidents of blasphemy and sacrilegious content on social media. Butt said the ministry has issued directives to provincial secretaries of the religious affairs and Auqaf departments in all four provinces, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to launch an awareness campaign against blasphemous content.
He said the ministry has also urged prominent religious scholars to devise a comprehensive strategy for public awareness against blasphemous content.
Blasphemy, punishable by death in Muslim-majority Pakistan is an incendiary charge, where even unsubstantiated accusations can incite public outrage and lead to lynchings. Human rights groups say Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in the prosecution of “online blasphemy” cases recently, with private groups accusing hundreds of young individuals of blasphemy, according to AFP.
A report published by the government-run National Commission for Human Rights in October last year said there were 767 people, mostly young men, in jail awaiting trial over blasphemy allegations.
Meanwhile, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party assumed charge as the new Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, according to a statement from the religion ministry.
“Federal Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf assumed the portfolio of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony,” the ministry said. “He was given a detailed briefing on the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the ministry’s subordinate institutions and Hajj preparations.”
Yousaf said prioritizing the welfare of pilgrims and visitors was essential, emphasizing that all necessary steps would be taken to address their issues and improve Hajj facilities.
Pakistan says main suspect in 2024 Greek boat tragedy arrested
- Four Pakistanis were killed when a migrant boat sank near Greek island of Crete in December 2024
- Federal Investigation Agency says arrested suspect is part of international gang of human traffickers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) announced on Monday that it has arrested the main suspect in the 2024 Greek boat tragedy, vowing to continue its crackdown against human traffickers who send people to Europe and other countries on illegal sea journeys.
The incident took place in December 2024 when four Pakistanis died after a migrant boat they were on sank near the Greek island of Crete. Each year, thousands of Pakistanis pay large sums for risky and illegal journeys to developed countries, hoping to find work and send money back to their families.
The FIA said its team arrested the main suspect, Usman Jaja, from the eastern city of Sialkot. The agency said he had gone into hiding since the Greek boat tragedy took place in December last year.
“Suspect Usman Jaja tried to send several citizens to Europe via boat,” the FIA said in a statement. “The boat met with an accident in which several youths died.”
The FIA said Jaja was wanted by the FIA’s Gujranwala chapter in more than eight cases, alleging that he was part of an international gang of human traffickers. The agency said it has started an investigation against the suspect, adding that raids are being conducted to arrest others involved with him as well.
“Our crackdown against elements involved in boat accidents is underway,” FIA Gujranwala Director Abdul Qadir Qamar was quoted as saying by the agency. “All resources are being used to arrest the suspects.”
He said the agency’s intelligence-based operations against human traffickers are underway, vowing that no one would be allowed to play with the lives of innocent people.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. It was one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.
Greece was a favored gateway to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in 2015-2016, when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, mostly via inflatable dinghies.
Incidents with migrant boats and shipwrecks off Crete and its tiny neighbor Gavdos, which are relatively isolated in the central Mediterranean, have increased since 2023.
UAE consul general holds iftar dinner for Pakistan’s Special Olympics athletes
- Pakistani athletes are second to none, says UAE Consul General Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi
- UAE consul general stresses on the importance of giving confidence to persons with disabilities
KARACHI: UAE Consul General Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi held an iftar dinner in honor of Pakistan’s Special Olympics athletes on Sunday, the UAE consulate in Karachi said, stressing the need to empower them through confidence.
The development takes place as Pakistani athletes prepare to take part in the World Winter Games Turin 2025 that are being organized by the Special Olympics organization. The global event is scheduled to run from Mar. 8-15 and will feature at least 1,500 athletes from over 100 countries who will compete in eight sporting competitions throughout Italy’s Piedmont region.
The UAE consul general welcomed the athletes at his residence in Karachi on Sunday evening. He said that athletes from Pakistan are second to none in the Special Olympics.
“A little hard work on athletes boosts their morale,” Al Remeithi was quoted as saying by the UAE consulate. “The consul general said that despite mental or physical problems, special athletes are no less capable than anyone else. They need to be given confidence.”
The UAE consul general said that Arab culture during the holy month of Ramadan further strengthens the love and ties between the brotherly countries of Pakistan and the UAE.
The participants thanked the UAE consul general for hosting the iftar and thanked him for extending his hospitality, the UAE’s consulate general said.
Pakistan president to address joint session of parliament today
- Asif Ali Zardari, who has previously served as president, will be addressing parliament for eighth time today
- Pakistani presidents’ addresses to parliament are usually marred by noisy protests from opposition lawmakers
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will address the joint session of Pakistan’s parliament today, Monday, at the start of the new parliamentary year, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
According to Article 56 of Pakistan’s constitution, the president is required to address both houses of parliament at the start of the first session of each parliamentary year. Zardari, who previously served as Pakistan’s president from 2018-2013, has addressed joint sessions of the parliament seven times before, including one last year in April.
Pakistani presidents’ addresses to parliament have been marred by noisy protests from opposition lawmakers in the past. Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party lawmakers shouted slogans and banged their desks when Zardari spoke in 2024. This year as well the party is expected to disrupt Zardari’s speech with sloganeering as the PTI’s tensions with the ruling coalition government persist.
“President Asif Ali Zardari will address the joint session of Parliament on Monday on the beginning of new parliamentary year,” Radio Pakistan said in a report. “The joint session will start at three in the afternoon.”
The state-run media said stringent security arrangements have been put in place at the Parliament House ahead of the session. It said that as per the National Assembly Secretariat, entry for guests has been prohibited while media representatives will be allowed in “limited numbers.”
According to English language newspaper Dawn, Zardari will outline the federal government’s performance and governance issues in his address.
The president’s address takes place as Pakistan navigates a tricky path to economic recovery after a prolonged macroeconomic crisis. Pakistan’s government says its economic reforms over the past one year have yielded fruit, pointing to improving macroeconomic indicators such as a decline in inflation, current account surplus and increase in exports.
The country, however, faces surging militancy in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have reported an increase in attacks launched by religiously motivated militants and separatist outfits since November 2022, dealing a blow to Pakistan’s efforts to root out militancy.
The Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government is also grappling with political instability as its tensions with Khan’s PTI persist. The former prime minister continues to remain popular from behind bars, with his party leading a large protest calling for his release from prison last year that involved clashes with law enforcers.
Both sides attempted to break the political deadlock in the country by holding negotiations in December 2024. However, after three rounds of talks, the negotiations failed as the PTI pulled out in January, citing the government’s failure to form judicial commissions to investigate protests it led in May 2023 and November 2024.
Unidentified gunmen kill three Sindh-based barbers in southwestern Pakistan
- Armed men shot dead barbers while they were sitting outside a hotel in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, says paramilitary Levies soldier
- No group has claimed responsibility for attack but Baloch separatist militants have killed Punjab-based barbers and commuters before
QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen in southwestern Pakistan shot dead three barbers who hailed from Sindh on Sunday, a soldier of the paramilitary Levies force confirmed, amid a surge in ethnic attacks in the restive Balochistan province.
Attacks by ethnic Baloch separatist militants against Punjab-based laborers, barbers and commuters are common in the southwestern province. Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by landmass and rich in mineral resources, has long faced a low-level insurgency led by separatist groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), who accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources for the development of Punjab while neglecting the local population. Pakistan’s government denies these allegations, saying it has prioritized Balochistan’s development through investments in health, education, and infrastructure projects.
The latest attack took place in Gwargo, an area located around five kilometers away from Balochistan’s Panjgur district, Levies soldier Shakeel Baloch said. He added that unidentified armed men shot the barbers while they were sitting outside a hotel on Sunday evening.
“Three barbers who belonged to Mirpurkhas and Jacobabad districts of Sindh province were killed on the spot,” Baloch told Arab News.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on the BLA, which has carried out attacks against Punjabi laborers and barbers in the past.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind strongly condemned the attack, describing the development as a “barbaric” move by the militants.
“Terrorists have been attempting to create divisions and hate among provinces by targeting laborers who are working in Balochistan,” Rind said.
He said security forces had started tracking the “terrorists” involved in the attack.
Balochistan has seen a surge in ethnic attacks over the past few months as the province’s security situation deteriorates. Seven Punjab-based passengers were forcibly removed from a bus heading to the eastern city of Faisalabad from Quetta and killed by a group of gunmen in Balochistan last month.
In August 2024, nearly two dozen passengers traveling in Punjab-bound buses were killed after BLA militants forcibly removed ethnic Punjabi commuters from buses after checking their identity cards.
In May 2024, gunmen shot dead seven Punjab-based barbers who lived and worked together near the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan.
