Pakistani rupee sees downward slide amid uncertainty over IMF bailout 

A foreign currency dealer counts US dollar bills at a shop in Karachi, Pakistan, on February 25, 2022. (AFP/File)
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Updated 13 July 2022
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Pakistani rupee sees downward slide amid uncertainty over IMF bailout 

  • Local currency closed at Rs210.1 against the greenback on Thursday, last Thursday it closed at Rs207.91
  • Burgeoning current account deficit and delay in IMF deal major reasons behind the rupee depreciation

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani rupee depreciated by Rs2.19 against the US dollar during interbank trading on Wednesday, with currency dealers and economists attributing the downward slide to fears over a delay in the revival of a stalled $6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.

The local currency closed at Rs210.1 against the greenback on Thursday, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. Last Thursday, it had closed at Rs207.91.

The US dollar has consistently risen in the Pakistani currency market in the last two months due to political and economic uncertainty.

Pakistan last month said it had received economic and financial targets from the IMF that once agreed and ratified should pave the way for the lender to unlock a suspended $6 billion loan program.

Pakistan desperately needs the money to avert a balance of payment crisis that is being brought closer by the day as a result of the sharp rise in global oil and commodity prices. Central bank foreign currency reserves have fallen dangerously low, and the economy is reeling from a sharp depreciation in the Pakistani rupee and double-digit inflation.

“We have no update on the IMF loan program so far,” Birj Lal Dosani, director-general media at the Ministry of Finance, told Arab News on Wednesday. Finance minister Miftah Ismail did not respond to questions. Bloomberg reported an agreement with the IMF had been reached. 

Pakistan entered the IMF program in 2019 spread over three years and three months, but with less than half the amount disbursed, the IMF suspended the bailout earlier this year after the previous prime minister, Imran Khan, announced unfunded subsidies for the oil and power sectors. Khan’s government was ousted in April. The new government has since raised the prices of petroleum products at least four times to meet IMF conditions.

Economists and financial experts said the consistent devaluation of the rupee was attributed to numerous factors, but the burgeoning current account deficit and delay in the IMF deal were the major reasons behind the depreciation.

“This is obvious, the rupee is under significant pressure over delay in the IMF deal,” Samiullah Tariq, head of research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited, told Arab News. 

Listing other reasons behind the rupee depreciation, he said export inflows were slow as factories remained closed during the Eid holidays, which ran from Friday to Tuesday, while import pressure was high on the first working day.

“Our foreign remittances usually remain high before Eid holidays and then start drying up during the month, so this could be another reason behind the rupee depreciation against the dollar,” he said.

Tariq said the dollar index had also risen 1.5 percent in the international market in recent days and this had also brought the Pakistani rupee under pressure. 

Currency dealers said an increasing import bill and uncertainty over the IMF loan program were major reasons behind a sharp rupee depreciation after the Eid holidays. The state bank has $9.8 billion in reserves, sufficient to cover the import bill of only five to six weeks.

“Our import bill has increased manifold in recent months with soaring prices of energy and food commodities in the international market while our forex reserves have been falling,” Malik Bostan, president of the Pakistan Forex Association, told Arab News.

“The rupee could appreciate up to two hundred against the greenback but only after the IMF $1 billion tranche was credited to the central bank,” he said.

Dr. Khaqan Hassan Najeeb, former adviser to the Ministry of Finance, said considering the jitteriness in the markets, it was important for Pakistan to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF as soon as possible.

“Both the international bond market and forex market remain under pressure as Pakistan’s bonds yield has risen to uncomfortable level maturing in December 22 is now yielding 41 percent which was floated at 5.88 percent,” he told Arab News.

“A deal with the IMF would ensure that Pakistan’s foreign reserves are not only built by the money it receives from the international lender but also other sources, which could help remove pressure on the rupee.”


Fathers of Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam call for expedited justice in daughters’ murder cases

Updated 7 sec ago
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Fathers of Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam call for expedited justice in daughters’ murder cases

  • The demand for quicker trials by fathers of the two high-profile murder victims highlights a stagnant justice system
  • The murders of Mukadam and Inam led to public outrage, calling into question the safety and rights of women in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The fathers of Noor Mukadam and Sara Inam, victims of two high-profile murders in Pakistan, held a news conference in the federal capital on Sunday, calling for expedited legal proceedings speedy justice in their daughters’ cases.
The media interaction was arranged exactly a year after Inam, a 37-year-old economist, was killed by her husband, Shahnawaz Amir, in suburban Islamabad.
The fathers of the two women not only pressed the judiciary for timely justice but also reignited the focus on the safety and rights of women in Pakistan which came under question after the two murders.
“It has been a year,” lamented Engineer Inam Rahim, Sara's father. “We were hoping this would take about six months since these were open-and-shut cases.”
He also asked the media not to forget about the murders and discuss them in newspapers and on television channels.
“We request you to continue to highlight these cases since that will raise our hopes of getting justice,” he continued, adding that his daughter was trapped by a husband whose main goal was her wealth and who eventually subjected her to brutal murder.
Shaukat Ali Mukadam, the father of Noor Mukadam who was murdered in July 2021, also called for a speedy trial.
“The courts will lose their credibility if such cases continue to remain pending in them,” he said.
His statement came as Zahir Jaffer, who was sentenced to death in his daughter’s murder case, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Pakistan in April 2023. The case has remained pending since then.


Pakistan recalls injectable medicine amid eye infection reports, initiates probe

Updated 24 September 2023
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Pakistan recalls injectable medicine amid eye infection reports, initiates probe

  • The interim health minister assures the public of transparent inquiry, vows to prosecute those responsible
  • The government had received complaints related to loss of sight among diabetic patients using Avastin in Punjab

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interim health minister Nadeem Jan said on Sunday the government had recalled an injectable medicine from the market after receiving reports it had caused eye infections and loss of sight among patients in the Kasur, Multan, Lahore, and Sadiqabad districts located in the eastern Punjab province.
According to media reports, the caretaker administration in Punjab formed a five-member committee to investigate the issue, following complaints related to a locally manufactured injection called Avastin which was used by diabetic patients in the province.
The federal health minister invited his provincial counterpart to Islamabad to discuss the issue in the wake of this development. He said authorities had launched an investigation and would soon assign responsibility for the matter.
“Investigations are ongoing,” Jan said in a televised statement. “A committee has been formed, comprising five of our most senior experts, who will analyze the issue from all angles and provide us with a comprehensive report within the next three days.”
“As of now, the batch of medicine in question has been recalled,” he continued. “It is now in our possession, and its sales are prohibited.”
The minister explained the investigation team was tasked with determining whether the problem was caused by the medicine itself, issues in its supply chain, the skill level of the administering doctors, or the sterilization process.
He added the government had filed a police report against two individuals representing the supply company and had initiated legal action against them.
Jan assured the public of a transparent inquiry, adding the authorities would share their findings and prosecute those responsible for causing harm to patients.


Asian Games: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to set up India cricket final

Updated 24 September 2023
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Asian Games: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to set up India cricket final

  • Pakistan manage below-par 75-9 in 20 overs against Sri Lanka 
  • Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off for bronze on Monday

HANGZHOU, China: In-form Sri Lanka, fresh from a stunning Twenty20 series victory in England, beat Pakistan by six wickets on Sunday to reach the women’s cricket final at the Asian Games and set up a clash with India.
Pakistan never got going on a difficult batting surface affected by days of rain at the Zhejiang University of Technology ground in Hangzhou, and could only muster a below-par 75-9 in their 20 overs.
Left-arm medium pace bowler Udeshika Prabodhani led the Sri Lankan attack with three wickets and Kavisha Dilhari took two with her offspin.
Sri Lanka sauntered to their target with 21 balls to spare to spark wild celebrations as their players ran on to the field to high-five and hug each other.
Earlier, the Indians routed Bangladesh for 51 on the same ground with all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar, only drafted into the squad as a last-minute replacement, taking four wickets.
They wasted no time in racing to an eight-wicket victory with more than 11 overs remaining as Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored with an unbeaten 20.
Rodrigues is yet to be dismissed in the Asian Games, scoring 47 not out in the quarter-final against Malaysia, which was later abandoned because of rain.
It was the second time in just over a week that Sri Lankan cricketers had proven party-poopers by preventing a Pakistan-India major cricket final.
The country’s men’s team beat Pakistan in the semifinal of the 50-over Asia Cup in Colombo to prevent a final showdown against their fierce rivals India.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s women secured a historic first-ever white-ball series triumph over England, winning 2-1.
Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off for bronze on Monday before India take on Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match.


Train crash in eastern Pakistan injures at least 30

Updated 24 September 2023
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Train crash in eastern Pakistan injures at least 30

  • Lahore-bound passenger train collides with another in Shaikhupura district
  • Railway authorities suspend driver, assistant, two members of ground staff

LAHORE: A passenger train collided with another already parked and carrying goods in eastern Pakistan on Sunday, injuring at least 30 passengers, five of them seriously, officials said.

Railway authorities suspended the driver of the Lahore-bound passenger train, his assistant and two of the ground staff for negligence as an investigation has been opened, said top railways official Shahid Aziz.

Aziz said the incident happened in Shaikhupura district near Qila Sattar Shah station early morning as the passenger train which left Mianwali for Lahore was directed to the track where the goods train was already parked.

He said most of the injured were treated at the train station, but those with serious injuries were moved to hospital and the tracks were quickly cleared.

Such accidents are common in Pakistan where railways suffer from decades-old signal systems and tracks.


Ex-PM Khan’s party welcomes anti-terror court’s decision to grant bail to women supporters

Updated 24 September 2023
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Ex-PM Khan’s party welcomes anti-terror court’s decision to grant bail to women supporters

  • Former lawmaker Rubina Jamil, social media activist among nine granted bail by anti-terror court in Lahore
  • Khan’s supporters were arrested for attacking the residence of Lahore Corps Commander on May 9

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leaders on Sunday welcomed an Anti-Terrorism Court’s (ATC) decision to grant bail to nine PTI supporters, among them five women, in a case relating to the attack on a senior military officer’s residence months ago.

An ATC in Lahore granted post-arrest bail to former PTI MNA Rubina Jamil and eight others on Saturday who were arrested on charges of attacking the official residence of the Lahore Corps Commander on May 9. 

Angry PTI supporters took to the streets following Khan’s brief arrest on May 9 on graft allegations, torching government buildings and attacking military installations in many parts of the country. Scores of people were arrested for attacking the senior military officer’s Lahore residence, among them former lawmakers Alia Hamza and Rubina Jamil, and prominent fashion designer Khadijah Shah. 

Following the protests, police registered cases against the suspects under Section 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), Section 131 (abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty) and Section 146 (rioting) under the Pakistan Penal Code. 

While the ATC granted bail to Jamil, social media activist Sanam Javed, Afshan Tariq, Shahbano, Ashima Shuja, Mubeen Qadri, Syed Faisal Akhtar, Ali Hassan, and Mohammad Qasim, the same was denied to 39 others including Hamza and Shah. 

“A welcome first step,” PTI leader and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Khan Jhagra wrote on social media platform X. 

“The 9 given bail must be released. It is the reputation of the state that suffers when justice is seen not to be served, as is the case here.”

Jhagra said that “not a shred” of evidence of arson or destruction of public property linking PTI’s supporters to the acts of May 9 has been found. 

Former PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan agreed with Jhagra, saying that the women who were granted bail should be released too. 

“No doubt our sisters have endured alot and now when given bail by ATC they must be released & allowed to re-join their families and kids,” he wrote on X. 

 While Khan insists he did not instigate supporters to attack law enforcers on May 9, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Sept. 3 that the protests were aimed at starting a mutiny or civil war in the country. 

“I think its target as a nucleus was the serving army chief and the team around him. All of them,” Kakar had said during an interview with a private news channel. 

While Khan’s party alleges it is being victimized, Kakar has said the law would take its course and PTI supporters would not be targeted unfairly by military courts.