Islamic Republic of Pakistan : News, Discussions & Updates

Two policemen gunned down in Quetta

QUETTA: Two policemen, including a senior officer, were gunned down and another was injured here on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Assailants targeted one policeman in the main city areas and the other in Hazar Ganji vegetable market located on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

Police officials said on Wednesday the assailants attacked the policemen who were guarding the fruit and vegetable sellers of Shia Hazara community.

Vegetable sellers of Hazara community visit Hazar Ganji vegetable market daily in an escort of three police mobiles and an Armoured Personnel Carrier. The three mobiles and the APC stand guard at the three gates of the market.

Pakistan rejects IMF report on it's economy

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s de-facto finance minister refuted an International Monetary Fund assessment that the country’s economy was deteriorating and said plans to issue dollar bonds or Chinese-currency bonds haven’t been firmed up.

The IMF in a statement this week said the South Asian nation’s economy faces continual “erosion” and its widening external and fiscal imbalances mean that “risks to Pakistan’s medium-term capacity to repay the fund have increased” since completion of a three-year $6.6 billion bailout program that ended in Sept. 2016. Pakistan’s current-account deficit could reach 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in the year ending June, the IMF said.

“Given the growth of our economy, this growth will solve lot of problems,” Miftah Ismail, an adviser to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said in an interview in the capital Islamabad late on Wednesday. The fiscal deficit went up “last year we had lot of political upheaval — but we will bring down to less than 5 percent. We’ll make sure, our current account deficit is under control, not more than 3 percent next year.”

“I don’t see us going back to the IMF — we are considering issuing a Panda bond which is sold in China,” said Ismail, who took over the ministry portfolio in December after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who faces arrest in Pakistan on graft charges, sought medical treatment in London. “If the market is favorable only then I’ll go to the market. If not, I’m not in desperate need for money.”

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Journalists covering #PashtunLongMarch2Quetta #PashtunLongMarch getting death threats from Private number . In Pakistan you can not hide CLI except Pakistan Army or agencies. You see original number or random digits for international calls.

https://twitter.com/x/status/972076429679656961
 
Shekhar Singh said:
I think Arabs are still funding them.
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That is what I have been telling for long. @STEPHEN COHEN would not understand.

Bali78 said:
They receive around $20 billion per year from foreign remittances, mostly from Gulf countries.
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BoP includes remittance. In FY17 Pakistan has exports of $27 billion and imports of $58 billion. Remittance is $19-20 billion. The net FDI was 1$1-2 billion. In addition, Pakistan does not disclose the military imports. Where is the remaining $10+ billion from?
 
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Seeking Reprieve
With the upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) review in June, Hafiz Saeed could not have picked a worse time to seek judicial reprieve . The Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief has filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the presidential ordinance under which his group has been banned, for being on the watch list of the United Nations.

The concerned ordinance is one that was promulgated by President Mamnoon Hussain last month, amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 with regards to proscription of terrorist individuals and organisations to include entities listed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) — in a move to declare Hafiz Saeed-linked JuD and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) as proscribed groups. This move was widely considered as a pre-emptive measure to avoid Pakistan being blacklisted by FATF.

Legally, due process of law should absolutely be held at all costs, and it is certainly Hafiz Saeed’s right to challenge any law that he likes. The merits of his case however, are harder to see.

The President too has the right to promulgate ordinances which can amend laws. Changing the definition of people and organisations that fall under the preview of Anti-Terror laws is an act perfectly within his power. Hafiz Saeed contending that he is in fact not a ‘terrorist’ - even if take his assertions on face value - does not change the legality of that power. Which means it does not make the act of the president “ultra vires” and hence unconstitutional. Such black and white cases should be summarily dismissed, but stranger judicial decisions have been delivered in the past and the government should not rest on its arguments alone. Considering that mainstreaming of Saeed’s party is an explicit objective of the establishment. there may be more sides to this story than the strictly legal one

However, there is much on the line here. With US and Pakistan relations finally cooling down, it is risky for Pakistan to go soft yet again on internationally declared terrorists. Not only this, but ordinary Pakistani lives also are at risk, as Saeed’s inflammatory rhetoric is being mainstreamed.

Post-FATF, this is the first test of the government’s resolve to clamp down on terrorist networks. Let’s see if the government - and the establishment - can match their words with action.
Seeking Reprieve
 
Shoe thrown at Nawaz Sharif at Jamia Naeemia Lahore - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

Shoe thrown at Nawaz Sharif at Jamia Naeemia Lahore

Dawn.com Updated March 11, 2018


A day after ink was thrown on Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in Sialkot, a shoe was thrown at PML-N's supreme leader Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on Sunday, DawnNewsTV reported.

Sharif, who had arrived at Jamia Naeemia to address a ceremony marking the death anniversary of Mufti Mohammad Hussain Naeemi, had a shoe thrown at him by a man in the audience as soon as he took the stage. Video footage of the incident showed Sharif visibly shocked in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

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Shoe thrown at Nawaz Sharif after he arrived on the stage to address the crowd.─DawnNewsTV

The man was immediately caught and thrashed by the audience. The organisers said they are trying to ascertain the identity of the attacker and how he was able to enter the hall. The man has been taken into custody by security agencies at the venue.

The incident comes days after another PML-N leader, Ahsan Iqbal, had a shoe thrown at him, making it the third incident of similar nature against the ruling party's top leadership in recent days.

Condemnations
While speaking to DawnNewsTV, opposition MNA Sheikh Rashid condemned the incident, terming it a complete collapse of intelligence and a result of "overconfidence" shown by the former premier. Rashid said that it could have been something other than a shoe which would have been a disaster. He advised Sharif to ensure he spoke from behind a bullet-proof glass in the future.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan and his party also condemned the incident. In its message on Twitter, PTI said that it was regrettable that PML-N's policies have turned the people against the party to the extent that they [the nation] have resorted to such antics.



Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Faisal Subzwari also took to Twitter to condemn the incident, calling for serious efforts to curb such acts.



PML-N leader Rana Mashhood said that the party was anticipating such an incident because there is a frustration on part of the opposition due to PML-N's rising popularity. He added that the party was trying to keep its workers calm.

Other politicians, journalists and members of the civil society also took to to Twitter to denounce the incident.
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Nine martyred, over a dozen injured in Raiwind suicide attack

LAHORE: At least nine people, including five police personnel, were martyred and over a dozen others injured in a suicide blast on the outskirts of Lahore on Wednesday night.
According to DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf, the explosion occurred near a police camp, set up for the security of the annual congregation of Tableeghi Jamaat in Raiwind.

“The police appear to be the target [of the attack],” he said.

Asharf said two sub-inspectors and three constables were among the martyred while the injured include Raiwind ASP and SHO.

“It looks like a suicide blast… body parts of the bomber have also been recovered,” said the police officer.
 
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Afghanistan levies 400 times higher duty on Pakistan goods


LAHORE: Smuggling is obstructing legal trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a challenge that should be tackled through rationalising and removing tariff barriers, suggested Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry Secretary General Faiza Zubair.

Talking to members of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), she said smuggling should be dealt with firmly as it was equally destructive for both countries.

She said the regulatory duty imposed by Afghanistan on Pakistani goods was 400 times more than the duty imposed by Pakistan on Afghan products, adding mutual trade could not grow in the presence of such a duty structure.

Zubair was of the view that there was a need for an export house for checks and balances, which would ensure quality specifications of export goods of both the countries before full payments to overcome the trust deficit.

She proposed a grand meeting of all chambers of Pakistan very soon to discuss export issues.

Speaking on the occasion, LCCI Acting President Khawaja Khawar Rashid said bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were very important for peace and development in the region.

“If relations between the two countries are not good due to some internal or external reasons, they directly affect bilateral trade and transit trade,” he remarked.

Rashid said Pakistan was the best option for exports and imports for Afghanistan. Sharing numbers, he said in 2010-11, the total volume of transit trade was $3.8 billion, which stood at $3.5 billion in 2015-16.

In 2016-17, the trade volume fell to $2.9 billion, but he voiced hope that it would reach $3 billion by the end of 2017-18.
 
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Islamic Suicide Attack in Lahore (Pakistan) - 7 Killed

Seven people were killed on Wednesday in a Taliban suicide attack in the Pakistani city of Lahore, officials said.

The blast took place in the suburb of Raiwind in Lahore, the main town of central Punjab province, near a mosque hosting a religious congregation.

At least 18 people were wounded.

Jam Sajjad Hussain, spokesman of a state-run rescue service, told Reuters that his officials had taken seven dead bodies to hospitals.

“Our rescuers are at work,” he said. “They have shifted so far seven bodies.”

Deputy Inspector General of police Haider Ashraf said the bomb exploded when the police were changing guards at the checkpoint just outside an annual religious congregation in Raiwind, where nearly 80,000 people were in attendance.

“A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle attacked the police,” Ashraf said. He said four of the dead were police.

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in a WhatsApp message sent to a Reuters reporter.

Located in the east of the country, Lahore has largely been spared the extremist violence seen in the country’s northwest which sits at the edge of a lawless mountain range along the Afghan border. That area has long been home to local and foreign extremists from the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and where ISIS has lately made footholds.

The Pakistani Taliban leadership have fled to neighboring Afghanistan from where Islamabad alleges they plan and execute terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

Washington on Thursday offered a $5 million bounty for the Pakistani Taliban militant leader, Mulllah Fazlullah, a day after a suspected US drone strike on a training camp in a remote part of Afghanistan killed his son and more than 20 other militants preparing to launch suicide attacks in Pakistan.

The US cooperation comes amid worsening US-Pakistan relations, and coincided with a visit to Washington by Pakistan’s foreign secretary for talks expected to focus on boosting counter-terrorism cooperation and the US strategy in Afghanistan.
 
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Afghanistan imposing 400 percent more taxes on Pakistani products

Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry Secretary General Faiza Zubair while talking to members of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said smuggling should be dealt with firmly as it was equally destructive for both countries.

She said the regulatory duty imposed by Afghanistan on Pakistani goods was 400 times more than the duty imposed by Pakistan on Afghan products, adding mutual trade could not grow in the presence of such a duty structure.

Turkish tariffs weigh down Pakistan’s exports

KARACHI: Increase in duties on Pakistan’s exports by Turkish authorities drastically reduced the country’s outbound shipments to Turkey, a senior industry official said on Wednesday, stressing need for free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries to improve bilateral trade.

Vice President Mazhar Ali Nasir of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said export of Pakistan to Turkey was $873 million in 2011, but it fell to $323 million in 2017, whereas export of Turkey to Pakistan amounted to $214 million in 2011, which rose to $352 million in 2017.

“Turkish authorities increased duties on Pakistani exports from six to 24 percent, which is a great barrier and caused a drastic reduction in export of Pakistan to Turkey,” a statement quoted Nasir as saying. He was meeting with Turkish Consul General who visited FPCCI.

FPCCI vice president said Pakistan and Turkey are time-tested friends and their economic ties are based on longstanding and deep-rooted bilateral relationship providing economic and political support to each other.

“There are tremendous opportunities and trade potential between both the countries which can be exploited by the help of FTA,” he said. “Unfortunately, the bilateral trade volume has decreased to $675 million in 2017 from more than a billion dollar in 2011.”

Europe planning to expel Pakistani parrots for breeding like crazy

Amid dealing with illegal immigrants from the Middle East and other countries, European nations are planning to expel Pakistani parrots from the region.

According to trt.net.tr, the population of the Pakistan-origin bird has exploded in Holland. European scientists have ranked them among the species, breeding like crazy in the region.

Keeping in view their growing populations, the countries of the region has imposed a ban on feeding the parrots. Irritate from their noise, Europe is also trying to drive them out from the region.

This bird species has colonised several countries on every continent except Antarctica, with big breeding groups in Holland, Belgium and Germany.

The garden bird was one of the charming, exotic bird, with its lurid green feathers but today it has now become a pest that drives out native species
 
Pakistan's 'net reserves stand at minus $724m'

ISLAMABAD: In a disclosure that could jolt the country’s financial markets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Pakistan’s net international reserves after excluding its foreign exchange liabilities are negative $724 million.

As of February 14, Pakistan’s Net International Reserves stood at minus $724 million – down from $7.5 billion in September 2016 when the three-year IMF programme had ended, according to the IMF report released on Thursday.

It said that Pakistan’s foreign exchange liabilities were $13.5 billion as against its gross official reserves of $12.8 billion as of February 14.

However, the reserves further slipped to $12.23 billion by March 2, which means the net international reserves were negative $1.22 billion.

The IMF reached the minus $724 million net international reserves figure after it excluded the $5.4 billion loans that the State Bank of Pakistan had obtained through currency swaps, $6.3 billion IMF loans, $1.03 billion Chinese currency swaps and $700 million liabilities of other commercial banks.
 
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Shashank said:
Are we really doing it or its just a mountain out of mole thing. Anyways I am happy. :)
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These things are pretty normal in Indo pak relations. The Pakistanis are escalating because they will definitely try to harras further Indian diplomats there. So to justify their action they gave this in dawn.
 
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