ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday appointed chartered accountant Syed Shabbar Zaidi the new chief of the Federal Board of Revenue after its top economic policy leadership was cleared out during bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
The previous head of the agency, Jahanzeb Khan, was sacked on Friday along with the head of Pakistan’s central bank, reflecting the turmoil in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government as it grapples with a slowing economy, a weakening currency and soaring inflation.
Their removal comes only weeks after Finance Minister Asad Umar was asked to step down amid difficult talks with the IMF over what would be Pakistan’s 13th bailout since the late 1980s.
Poor tax collection and widespread evasion have been problems in Pakistan for decades. The IMF has been pressing the government to increase the tax it collects as it tries to reform the economy.
This year, the FBR is widely expected to miss a targeted 4,398 billion rupees ($31.19 billion) in revenue for the fiscal year ending in June, making it more difficult to cut a budget deficit the IMF expects will top 7 percent of gross domestic product in 2019.
Khan’s government has been frustrated by the low tax collection during its first year in office. The disappointing figures threatening his promises to build a welfare state for the poor.
The central bank forecast in March the economy would grow 3.5 to 4 percent in the 12 months to the end of June, well short of a government target of 6.2 percent. The IMF is more pessimistic, predicting 2.9 percent growth in 2019 and 2.8 percent next year.
Pakistan’s consumer price inflation in March rose to its highest since November 2013, 9.41 percent year-on-year, before easing to 8.82 percent in April.
Pakistan appoints new chief of tax collection body
Pakistan appoints new chief of tax collection body
- Former FBR chief was sacked on Friday amid major reshuffle in economic division
- The IMF has been pressing Pakistan to increase tax collection as it tries to reform the economy
India and Pakistan set for World Cup blockbuster as boycott averted
- With bilateral cricket a casualty of their relations, emotions run high whenever the neighbors meet in multi-team events
- For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize opinion
India and Pakistan will clash in the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday, still feeling the aftershocks of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s boycott threat — later reversed — nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture.
With bilateral cricket a casualty of their fraught relations, emotions run high whenever the bitter neighbors lock horns in multi-team events at neutral venues.
India’s strained relations with another neighbor, Bangladesh, have further tangled the geopolitics around the World Cup.
When Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team field for refusing to tour India over safety concerns, the regional chessboard shifted.
Pakistan decided to boycott the Group A contest against India in solidarity with Bangladesh, jeopardizing a lucrative fixture that sits at the intersection of sport, commerce, and geopolitics.
Faced with the prospect of losing millions of dollars in evaporating advertising revenue, the broadcasters panicked. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) held hectic behind-the-scenes parleys and eventually brokered a compromise to salvage the tournament’s most sought-after contest.
Strictly on cricketing merit, however, the rivalry has been one-sided.
Defending champions India have a 7-1 record against Pakistan in the tournament’s history and they underlined that dominance at last year’s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
India beat Pakistan three times in that single event, including a stormy final marred by provocative gestures and snubbed handshakes.
Former India captain Rohit Sharma does not believe in the “favorites” tag, especially when the arch-rivals clash.
“It’s such a funny game,” Rohit, who led India to the title in the T20 World Cup two years ago, recently said.
“You can’t just go and think that it’s a two-point victory for us. You just have to play good cricket on that particular day to achieve those points.”
INDIA’S EDGE
Both teams have opened their World Cup campaigns with back-to-back wins, yet India still appear to hold a clear edge.
Opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently top the batting and bowling rankings respectively.
Abhishek is doubtful for the Pakistan match though as he continues to recover from a stomach infection that kept him out of their first two matches.
Ishan Kishan has reinvented himself as a top-order linchpin, skipper Suryakumar Yadav has regained form, while Rinku Singh has settled into the finisher’s role in India’s explosive lineup.
Mystery spinner Chakravarthy and the ever-crafty Jasprit Bumrah anchor the spin and pace units, while Hardik Pandya’s all-round spark is pivotal.
For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize opinion.
Captain Salman Agha will bank on spin-bowling all-rounder Saim Ayub, but the potential trump card is off-spinner Usman Tariq, whose slinging, side-arm action has intrigued opponents and fans alike.
