ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government is intended to sell nearly two dozen state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the coming years, Pakistani state media reported on Monday, citing Privatization Minister Aleem Khan.
The development comes amid Islamabad’s crucial talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a fresh, longer term bailout program after it completed a $3 billion short-term program in April that helped Pakistan avert a default last year.
Under the last bailout package, the lender said SOEs whose losses were burning a hole in government finances would need stronger governance, for which the country needed to implement an ambitious agenda for reforms.
Khan, while responding to a question in parliament, confirmed that the government intended to privatize around 24 state entities, including the national airlines, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“These companies include Pakistan International Airlines, Roosevelt Hotel, First Women Bank, Utility Stores Corporation and various power distribution companies,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Minister for Power Sardar Awais Leghari said the provision of uninterrupted power supply was not possible without addressing the issue of line losses and power theft.
“Pakistan cannot afford a loss of 700 billion rupees in the power sector and we have to improve the performance of power distribution companies to control losses,” the broadcaster quoted Leghari as saying in parliament.
He said the provincial governments will have to extend their cooperation in this regarding, adding, “It is responsibility of all of us, irrespective of political affiliation, to play our due role to control power theft.”
The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program to support $350 billion economy of Pakistan, which has been facing low foreign exchange reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation.
Pakistan plans to sell around 24 state entities in coming years — minister
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Pakistan plans to sell around 24 state entities in coming years — minister
- The development comes as Islamabad is locked in crucial talks with the International Monetary Fund for a fresh, longer term bailout program
- Under the last bailout package, the lender said state entities burning a hole in government finances needed stronger governance and reforms
TV reporter dies after falling from rooftop during Pakistan kite-flying festival
- Pakistan's Lahore marked the Basant festival on Feb. 6-8 after the Punjab government lifted an 18-year-old ban on kite flying
- Malik Zain, a reporter affiliated with GNN news channel, fell from a four-storey building while flying a kite, Lahore police say
ISLAMABAD: A television reporter died after falling from a rooftop while flying a kite during the Basant spring festival in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, police and hospital authorities confirmed on Sunday.
Pakistan's Lahore marked the Basant festival on Feb. 6-8 after the Punjab provincial government this year lifted a ban on kite flying after 18 years, with extensive safety measures in place.
The festival, which marks the onset of spring, was banned in 2008 after deaths and injuries to motorcyclists and pedestrians from stray kite strings, sometimes coated with metal to make them more formidable in mid-air battles.
Malik Zain, a reporter affiliated with private news channel GNN, fell from the rooftop of a building during the final day of Basant celebrations in the eastern Pakistani city, according to police.
"Lahore journalist Malik Zain died after falling from the fourth floor while flying a kite in Gulshan-e-Ravi during Basant," the Lahore police said in a statement.
The reporter was shifted to the government-run Mian Munshi District Headquarters Hospital where he was pronounced dead, with cardiopulmonary arrest mentioned as the cause of death.
"Head injury due to fall from height," hospital authorities diagnosed in their report into Zain’s death.
The development came hours after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz extended timings for Basant till early Monday morning.
“I am pleased to announce that Basant celebrations timings are being extended till 5:00 AM tomorrow morning,” CM Nawaz said in an X post on Sunday, highlighting the festivity, unity and joy across Lahore.
“This extension is a reward for the people of Lahore for celebrating Basant with great discipline and for responsibly following all safety SOPs (standard operating procedures).”
The Punjab government banned the use of metallic or chemical-coated strings during the festival. Kites and strings had to bear individual QR codes so they could be traced, and motorcyclists had to attach safety rods to their bikes to fend off stray thread.
Some 4,600 producers had registered with the authorities to sell kites and strings ahead of the festival. Authorities had made it mandatory for owners to register rooftops with 30 or more revelers, while dozens of roofs had been declared off-limits after inspections.
