PESHAWAR: Muhammad Azam Khan, the interim chief minister of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, passed away on Saturday after being rushed to the hospital due to his deteriorating health the previous day.
A former civil servant, Khan was appointed to the post in January of this year after former prime minister Imran Khan dissolved the provincial assembly in an attempt to exert pressure on the government to hold early national elections.
Advocate Sawal Nazir, the provincial caretaker minister for local government and rural development, told Arab News he received the news early in the morning.
“The late chief minister was in his 90s,” he said. “As you know, old age itself can be a form of ailment. Additionally, the late chief minister was grappling with acute health issues, including a heart problem.”
Nazir added that Khan had been unable to chair a meeting of the provincial health department on Friday due to his illness.
“Legally, if the chief minister resigns or passes away, the cabinet is dissolved,” he explained.
Muhammad Azam Khan, hailing from Charsadda city, had previously served as the provincial finance minister. He also held the positions of secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources in Islamabad and chief secretary in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 1990 to July 1993.
Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar expressed deep sorrow and grief over Khan’s passing in a statement, offering prayers for the deceased and condolences to the bereaved family.
“Azam Khan served the people all his life as a dutiful and competent officer,” the PM said. “His role as a public officer will be a beacon for all civil servants.”
Kakar highlighted that the late chief minister had managed the administrative affairs of his province in a challenging situation.
“Khan took all possible measures to prevent law and order problems and smuggling in the province,” he continued.
The funeral prayer for the deceased chief minister will be held in his hometown of Charsadda at 3:30 pm today.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interim chief minister Muhammad Azam Khan passes away
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interim chief minister Muhammad Azam Khan passes away
- Caretaker PM Kakar says Khan’s role as a public officer will be a beacon for all civil servants in Pakistan
- His demise may lead to the dissolution of the provincial cabinet under the legal framework of the country
PIA set to resume Europe operations with flights to Paris in June-July, says CEO
- The ban was instituted after PIA air crash in May 2020 which was followed by a fake pilot license scandal
- EU’s Aviation Safety Agency says it is ‘not in a position to provide any information related to the status of PIA’
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would resume its operations in Europe with two weekly flights to Paris in June and July, the airline’s chief executive officer said on Monday, years after the national flag carrier was barred from operating flights to Europe.
PIA flights to Europe and the UK have been suspended since 2020 after the EU’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) revoked the national flag carrier’s authorization to fly to the bloc following a pilot license scandal that rocked the country.
The issue, which followed a plane crash in May 2020 that killed nearly a hundred people, had resulted in the grounding of 262 of Pakistan’s 860 pilots, including 141 of PIA’s 434.
“We hope we will commence our bi-weekly flights for Paris in the June or July timeframe. We are very hopeful about it,” said PIA CEO Muhammad Amir Hayat, while responding to questions during a Facebook Live.
“All our pre-operation formalities are complete, we just await final clearance, and as soon as we get it, we will start.”
Soon after the ban was imposed, Hayat said, PIA began compiling deliverables, systematically providing evidence to EASA, and telling the European agency the airline was safety-compliant.
“In March 2023, they conducted an online audit, and from my perspective, it was clear to them as they conducted the online audit that they would come for a physical audit, and they would be assured that we are at the level where they can confirm the audit,” Hayat said, adding the physical audit was conducted in November.
“In December, we received their confirmation that they accepted our deliverables. However, along with that, there are also some deliverables from the Civil Aviation Authority for which the CAA is in touch with them.”
For direct flights to the UK, Hayat said, an independent audit would have to be conducted post-Brexit.
“We have uploaded all the requirements on their portal. According to a careful estimate, after receiving clearance from EASA, the process should take two to three months,” he said. “We hope to achieve the goals of UK and European flights this year.”
Reached for confirmation, an EASA spokesperson told Arab News via email that the agency was “not in a position to provide any information related to the status of PIA.”
The spokesperson advised contacting PIA or the Pakistani CAA for information regarding any developments.
Pakistan is also set to privatize the national airline, which has been facing a financial crisis for the last several years, by June and July as part of the requirements set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
But no significant progress has been on that front made due to various reasons, including the suspension of the airline’s flights to Europe.
Pakistan to finalize ‘major agreements’ ahead of arrival of ‘higher’ Saudi delegation — commerce minister
- Pakistan has announced Saudi crown prince will visit this month but no dates have been confirmed by either country
- There have been flurry of high-level Saudi visits to Pakiatan in recent days as Islamabad pushes for foreign investments
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan said on Monday some “major agreements” will be finalized ahead of the arrival of a “higher” delegation from Saudi Arabia, after various Saudi and Pakistani firms developed an understanding during a recent visit by Saudi delegates to Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar last week said a much-awaited visit of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Islamabad was “on the cards” and could materialize any time during May. But neither of the two sides confirmed any dates.
His statement followed a series of high-level engagements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, including the visits of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to the Kingdom and a visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan to Islamabad.
This month, a high-level Saudi business delegation, led by the Kingdom’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, visited Pakistan to explore investment opportunities in various sectors, including mineral, energy, agriculture and petroleum.
“More than 100 Pakistani companies participated in the meetings with Saudi counterparts and even today, the process of meetings continues while the outcome of G2G (government-to-government) meetings has been seen in a very positive way in different sectors,” Khan said at a press conference in Karachi.
“A higher delegation from Saudi Arabia will definitely come to Pakistan, so before that, we should make a final form of these things (agreements), so that in the final form of B2B (business-to-business), some major agreements are signed.”
Khan did not specify a date for the arrival of the Saudi delegation. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package of $5 billion.
During the visit of the Saudi assistant investment minister this month, a number of agreements were signed and Pakistani companies have been asked to submit details of these agreements, according to the commerce minister.
The government has made various sectors available for facilitation, including agriculture, information technology (IT), energy and ports, and even, construction companies in Saudi Arabia have also shown interest in these sectors.
Along with that, Khan informed, progress was also being made on a free trade agreement with the Gulf countries.
He said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been received from Alibaba Group, a Chinese multinational company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet and technology, for the improvement of connectivity with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to penetrate rural and urban areas of Pakistan.
“They have put their stake in that MoU and if it gets vetted and clarity comes, then the senior-most [official] in Alibaba will come to Pakistan and sign it, which will be a big thing,” the minister said.
Asked about the ongoing wheat crisis, Khan said no one could be held responsible prior to the completion of a probe.
Farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which produces most of the wheat crop, are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crop. They say the import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of this year has resulted in excess amounts of the commodity in the country, leading to reduced prices.
The South Asian country is trying to ascertain the factor that led to the import of wheat during the tenure of the interim government of caretaker prime minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, despite expectations of a bumper crop.
“It is premature to say who is responsible or due to whose negligence the current situation has arisen,” Khan said.
Zubair Motiwala, the TDAP chief executive, said the country’s food and agriculture exports had witnessed a substantial increase, which would cross $7 billion from $3.5 billion.
The major exports included rice, maize and sesame seeds, while there was a negative trend in the export of textiles, he said.
For the first time in the country, Motiwala shared, a policy was being introduced under which action could be taken against exporters for exporting substandard goods and companies could also be blacklisted.
Citi expects Pakistan to strike new $8 billion IMF deal by end-July
- Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off a sovereign default
- But the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program
LONDON: Wall Street Bank Citi expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a new four year of up to $8 billion program by end-July, and recommends going long on the country’s 2027 international bond.
Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer term program.
“While longer-term challenges pertain, we see several positive catalysts supporting the Eurobonds,” Nikola Apostolov at Citi wrote in a note to clients.
“First, a larger and longer IMF EFF (Extended Fund Facility) program could be finalized by July – possibly a $7-8 billion 4-year program and secondly and a possible inflow of Saudi investments,” Apostolov said after a team from Citi visited Pakistan and met policymakers, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
An IMF mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss the financial year 2025 budget, policies, and reforms under a potential new program, according to the Fund.
Citi said it expected Pakistan’s international 2027 bond to offer a sweet spot to investors with sufficient liquidity and large upside as risks of default dissipate further.
The 2027 maturity trades at 87.292 cents in the dollar, according to Tradeweb data.
The country’s shorter-dated bonds — maturing 2025 and 2026 — are trading at 91-96 cents following a sharp rally since late last year. Pakistan’s international bonds had sunken to as little as mid-20 cents in the dollar in 2022.
Pakistan to send qualified, trained nurses to Saudi Arabia
- Official says the Kingdom requires nurses in various fields on an ‘urgent basis’
- Overseas Employment Corporation has advertised qualification, experience of nurses
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) will be sending qualified and trained nurses to Saudi Arabia, Pakistani state media reported on Monday, citing an official of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.
The Kingdom required nursing staff in various fields, including cardiac care, emergency, medical care, obstetrics, pediatrics, critical care, hemodialysis, neonatal care, oncology, surgical care, and intensive care, the state-run APP news agency reported.
“Saudi Arabia required nurses staff on urgent basis and in this regard OEC has advertised the qualifications and experience of required nurses staff for abroad,” the report read.
“Only qualified females would be entertained for final selection who have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing BScN (4-years) or (Post RN), minimum two years of experience in the relevant field, only females, not more than 45.”
The applicants will be entitled to annual air ticket, mid-year benefits such as 10 calendar days post leave and mid-year round trip air ticket, and end-of-service benefits (Saudi service award) i.e. remuneration computed equivalent to the years of service.
Interested applicants could apply via the OEC’s website https://oec.gov.pk/, UAN 0311-0011-632 or email at [email protected].
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top destination for remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Pakistan benchmark stock index hits record high of 74,000 points
- Pakistan’s stock index has surged 78.6 percent over past year and is up by 14.1 percent in year to date
- Analaysts say stock market evaluations progressing as IMF talks progress, investors show interest
KARACHI: Pakistan’s benchmark share index closed at a record high of 73,822, up 1 percent, after it touched a lifetime peak on Monday, breaching the key level of 74,000 points.
The index has surged 78.6 percent over the past year and is up 14.1 percent in the year to date.
During intraday trading, the index hit a high of 74,114 points. On Friday, it closed at a record high of 73,085 points, above the key level of 73,000 for the first time.
Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program.
An IMF mission led by its chief will meet with authorities in Pakistan this week to discuss a new program, ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year, the IMF resident representative for Pakistan said on Saturday.
Amreen Soorani, head of research at JS Global Capital, said stock market valuations were recovering as talks with the IMF and reforms progressed, and foreign investors showed interest.
She said slowing inflation had also helped the rally.
Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 17.3 percent in April from a year earlier, the lowest reading in nearly two years and below the finance ministry’s projections.
The country has struggled with inflation above 20 percent since May 2022. Inflation jumped as high as 38 percent in May 2023, as Pakistan navigated reforms as part of an IMF bailout program.
“Corporate profits are strong, the market’s (price-earning) multiple is still only around 4, which is well below the historical average of 6, including the distressed times in this average,” she added.
Despite that, on Friday in its staff report on the country ahead of talks on a longer term program, the IMF said downside risks for the Pakistani economy remained exceptionally high, and “political uncertainty remains significant.”
