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  • Pakistan to receive $2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia in State Bank within next few days

    Pakistan to receive $2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia in State Bank within next few days

    Muhammad Jawad Sohrab Malik, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, had a meeting with Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, in Islamabad. The objective of the meeting was to discuss the ways to enhance bilateral collaboration between the two countries.

    During the meeting, Jawad expressed gratitude for Saudi Arabia’s consistent support for Pakistan. He thanked the ambassador for confirming that the $2 billion pledged by the Kingdom would be deposited within the next seven working days in the SBP account. Both parties showed a commitment to strengthening bilateral ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

    The SAPM highlighted the significance of Saudi Arabia’s assistance and stated that the $2 billion loan would help Pakistan overcome the current financial crisis. He further explained that this would pave the way for securing similar assurances not only from the IMF but also from other friendly countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and others, which would lead to the much-awaited staff-level agreement (SLA) with the IMF and unlock multilateral disbursements.

    Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to building long-term, sustainable investment transactions between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. He reiterated Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s pledge to increase Saudi Arabian investments in Pakistan’s energy and IT sectors to $10 billion within the next few years.

    The Saudi envoy expressed keen interest on behalf of the Saudi government in recruiting more manpower from Pakistan during the current and next year for various sectors of the kingdom. He stated that the Saudi labor market is continuing to expand, mainly due to the launch of several mega projects under Saudi Vision 2030.

    While highlighting the diverse business landscape in Pakistan, the SAPM expressed that Pakistan has a lot to offer in both the goods and services sectors. He commended the Kingdom’s commitment to providing enhanced employment opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in its future development ventures, as well as the valuable contributions of Saudi FDI in boosting the country’s economic outlook.

    During the meeting, both dignitaries engaged in fruitful discussions on the further strengthening of bilateral business relations, recruitment of more workforce from Pakistan, and enhancing FDI in potential sectors of the economy. Both the Saudi Ambassador and SAPM Jawad Sohrab Malik expressed confidence that their discussions would pave the way for a new era of deeper and more meaningful collaboration between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

  • IMF seeks further assurances from Pakistan despite Saudi Arabia and UAE confirmation

    IMF seeks further assurances from Pakistan despite Saudi Arabia and UAE confirmation

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seeking further assurances from Pakistan, despite confirmation of financial assistance from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to ensure that Pakistan has met the condition of arranging $6 billion financing in order to reach a staff-level agreement.

    Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan, welcomed the announcement of financial assistance from the two “key” friendly countries, stating that the IMF supports the efforts of the Pakistani authorities. A Pakistani delegation is currently in Washington attending the Spring meetings of the IMF to discuss the revival of the loan programme. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was unable to attend due to domestic issues.

    Pakistan had been asked to arrange $6 billion in external financing, which it needed from now until June to avoid default. Saudi Arabia has pledged $2 billion, while the UAE has committed $1 billion, thus reducing the now-required amount to $3 billion. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to cover barely a month of imports after the IMF funding stalled in November, hit by snags over fiscal policy adjustments after officials of the lender visited Islamabad in February for talks. The IMF programme will disburse another tranche of over $1 billion to Pakistan before it concludes in June.

    IMF’s Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, Jihad Azour, during a press conference, briefed the media about the current status of the $6.5 billion programme with Pakistan, saying that Pakistan is at a critical juncture and decisive actions are required to stabilise the economy. Azour emphasized the need for Pakistan to address inflation, reduce the constraints on trade and export, and maintain macroeconomic stability. He also stated that financing is required, and the financing needs are about what is currently in the programme, and the IMF is working with the authorities and bilateral supporters of Pakistan to ensure that the financing needs for the programme and beyond are assured.

    Central bank governor Jameel Ahmad told investors in Washington at the spring meetings of the lender and the World Bank that programme loans from other multilateral agencies await completion of the IMF review. Pakistan is at a critical juncture, and decisive actions are required to stabilise the economy.

  • Itni chuttiyan? KP announces six-day long Eid holiday

    Itni chuttiyan? KP announces six-day long Eid holiday

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced on Friday that official holidays on the occasion of Eid ul Fitr will be six days long.


    According to the notification issued by KP government, Eid holidays will start from April 21 and will conclude on April 26.


    The Federal and Punjab governments have announced a five-day holiday for Eid.


    The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee is set to meet on April 20 for sighting of the Eid ul Fitr crescent moon, a statement from the religious affairs ministry said on Tuesday.

    This year, the holy month of Ramazan started on March 23.

  • ‘Imran Khan wanted to stay in power till 2035’: Asif Zardari

    ‘Imran Khan wanted to stay in power till 2035’: Asif Zardari

    Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday alleged that former Prime Minister Imran Khan had wanted to stay in power till 2035 and was planning on doing so.

    Speaking on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, Zardari told Hamid Mir, “They had very different planning. They wanted him to stay in power till 2035. And to counter this move, we [Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)] brought in the no-confidence motion against him [Khan].”

    Recalling a conversation with the then Chief of Army Staff, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, the PPP leader said that he wanted the opposition to go for elections while he will convince Khan to resign. “But amidst this conversation, he kept giving us hints that he would impose martial law. Bajwa sahab said that he can impose martial law in five minutes,” revealed Zardari.

    The PPP leader went on to say that it is easy to climb onto a lion’s back but getting off is very difficult. “We told Gen Bajwa to go ahead with it, you run the country and we will go and continue with agriculture, that’s when he backed off.”

    Talking about general elections, Zardari said that they should be held at the same time across the country, as the federal government and Supreme Court are in a virtual standoff over holding the polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    “The problem is not that we are afraid of elections,” he said, adding that his party did not have an objection to the poll but its “timing”. The PPP leader maintained that his party had joined the National Assembly with just 14 seats in the past.

    Slamming Khan, the PPP leader said that the political workers stage protests but they do not pick up weapons. He claimed that Khan was not a popular leader, saying that he paid the people.

    The PPP leader revealed that he and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had asked Bajwa not to seek resignation from Khan.

  • Govt expected to increase petrol price by up to Rs14 per litre for the next fortnight

    Govt expected to increase petrol price by up to Rs14 per litre for the next fortnight

    Petroleum prices are expected to jump by approximately Rs10-14 per litre for the upcoming two weeks. Credible industry sources suggest that the government may contemplate increasing the prices of petroleum products in response to the increasing oil prices in the global markets.

    If the government considers compensating for exchange rate losses, as opposed to the previous review where the authorities did not transfer the impact of rupee devaluation to the public, the hike in prices could increase to as much as Rs14 per litre.

    The ex-depot price of petrol in the country is currently Rs272 per litre, and according to the workings of the oil sector, it is expected to reach Rs286.77 per litre in the next review if the government passes on the impact of global oil prices and exchange rate losses. However, even if the government does not adjust for exchange losses, petrol prices are still likely to increase due to higher global oil prices. The anticipated increase in the price of petrol is based on the current rate of taxes, with the government levying an Rs50 per litre charge on petrol and zero general sales tax.

    The expected rise in petrol prices is based on the Rs5 per litre exchange loss adjustment of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), which the government did not include in the past to keep petrol prices low. The prices of petroleum products would have been higher following the massive depreciation of the rupee against the dollar in the last two and a half months when, under International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions, the market-based exchange rate was allowed.

    On the other hand, the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) is expected to remain unchanged in the next review of prices, as the current ex-depot price of HSD is the same as the expected price for the next fortnightly period. The anticipated unchanged price of HSD is based on the Rs17.50 exchange loss adjustment of PSO, which was pending when the dollar price increased massively in the last few weeks. Sources suggest that if the government does not adjust for exchange rate losses, the diesel price may decrease by Rs15 per litre.

    The government raised the petroleum levy on HSD to Rs50 per litre under IMF conditions in the last review of prices and charged no GST on it. According to sources, while the oil sector’s workings reflect a rise in petrol prices and no change in HSD, it is up to the government to decide. In the current scenario, the government has no option but to increase the price of petrol, as its financial space is already squeezed. Additionally, the government is making desperate efforts to revive the IMF program to shore up forex reserves.

  • Karachi citizen allegedly shoots two robbers, killing them

    Two suspected robbers were reportedly shot to death on Saturday in the Azizabad Block 8 area of Karachi after a citizen allegedly fired at them while they were attempting to rob him near Moore Park, as per eyewitnesses, Samaa has reported.


    The police arrived at the scene and took possession of the bodies, which were then transferred to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The suspected robbers were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.


    Authorities have stated that they are working to establish the identity of the alleged thieves. It remains unclear whether the citizen who fired the shots acted in self-defense or if there are other factors at play.



  • Maya Ali’s favourite scene from ‘Yunhi’ is a replay of sexist ‘beti ka ghar na raha’

    It’s Friday, Mercury has stopped going in retrograde and everything is going back to normal, except for Pakistani dramas, which will keep scraping the bottom of the barrel to search for sexist content.

    It’s hilarious and yet quite terrifying how dedicated Pakistani dramas are to not provide what their audiences actually want: progressive storylines that recognise women as equals, rather than as props. But what currently popular trending dramas like ‘Yunhi’ prove, the best way to get ratings and to keep eyes glued to screens is to keep peddling the same sexist tropes over and over again and proclaim it as the standard content everyone should watch.

    ‘Yunhi’ began trending on social media this week when the actor playing the female lead on the show, Maya Ali, shared a clip from the latest episode. In it, her character is having an emotional, heart-to-heart with her father (played by fashion designer Deepak Perwani). Judged on performance alone, the scene is definitely tearjerking. However, we made the mistake of unmuting the video and heard the female character discuss how tragic it is for her to leave her father and how happy she is that her mother isn’t alive to see her wedding day.

    We should clarify here that Maya’s character is not heading off to war or to a distant land, but is actually getting married and leaving for her new home.

    Exactly what magical powers does a yellow mayun joraa hold, we want to ask Deepak Perwani, because of which a woman suddenly becomes a shadow of her past self and leaves behind her old family and friends? Does signing a marriage pact suddenly mean that over night, no woman can come back to her old home, and is now just the wife of the man that she has married?

    And most importantly, how is this supposedly tear jerking scene suppose to sit well in a country where women are taught that once they are married, they can never freely visit their families nor can they wear what they want or go where they want? They are not even allowed to escape domestic abuse.

    The message that Maya Ali likes, is once more, a terrifying reminder that for Pakistani families, marriages are basically equivalent to exiling women from their parents’ homes. And that for parents, including the dead mother who Maya is glad isn’t alive to watch her get married, the sole emotional and fundamentally important moment is their daughter getting married, nothing else.

    If these drama creators need any advice to show a rukhsati that actually makes the audience sob, take notes from ‘Kuch Ankahi’. That drama serial included a wedding scene where the phupoo (aunt) passionately defended women’s right to include protective clauses in the nikkahnama, and prove that women do not become strangers to their own families once they get married. They are still individuals with a personality, and definitely more than just the wives of the men they are getting married to.

    https://twitter.com/sunflowermochii/status/1637183811300601858?s=20

  • ‘She’s Pakistani, due respect,’ Adnan Siddiqui schools Priyanka for ignoring Sharmeen Obaid’s nationality

    Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has gone from strength to strength, initially by becoming the first Pakistani and woman of color to first win two Oscars, then to helming Marvel projects and now to taking on the mantle of the first female director to take on the iconic franchise ‘Star Wars’.

    Chinoy’s remarkable achievements have made Pakistanis incredibly proud, putting the country on the global map of the entertainment industry.

    The ‘Star Wars’ announcement has prompted a lot of people to congratulate Chinoy, including local and international stars. However, Hollywood actress Priyanka Chopra’s sentimental note about the director irked a lot of people, including actor Adnan Siddiqui.

    Chopra has shared a note for Chinoy on Instagram, calling her the first ‘South Asian’ woman to achieve such monumental heights.

    Adnan Siddiqui then schooled her in a tweet, reminding her that Chinoy was a Pakistani first, then a South Asian

    “With due respect, @priyankachopra . Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is a Pakistani first just to brush up your knowledge. Much like the way you flaunt your Indian nationality whenever you get the opportunity before claiming to be a South Asian.”

    Siddiqui’s savage response earned him praises from Twitter.

  • ECC approves interest-free loan scheme for electric bikes and rickshaws to empower youth

    ECC approves interest-free loan scheme for electric bikes and rickshaws to empower youth

    On Thursday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved a loan scheme with 0 per cent markup for environment-friendly electric bikes (e-bikes) and electric rickshaws (e-rikshaws) in a bid to facilitate youth and promote self-sufficiency.

    The approval was given during a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, where various financial proposals of ministries and divisions, including the loan scheme, were approved.

    The Ministry of Industries and Production submitted a summary on the financing facility for e-bikes and e-rikshaws, presenting details on viability, demand, and incentives to make them affordable. In order to create a sustainable demand for these vehicles, the ECC approved the Prime Minister’s Youth Business & Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYB&ALS) model for two and three-wheelers.

    Under this scheme, interest-free loans worth Rs0.5 million will be provided to youth for a period of three years. The Ministry of Industries and Production will work out the modalities of the scheme in coordination with PMYB&ALS.

    During the meeting, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research tabled a summary on the price of sugar during the month of Ramadan and briefed the attendees on the outcome of the Sugar Advisory Board’s meeting with the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) regarding the retail price of sugar.

    The ECC endorsed the decision that PSMA Punjab Zone will provide 20,000 metric tonnes of sugar at a retail price of Rs95 per kg during the holy month of Ramadan for sale to the general public through the government of Punjab at the district level. The ECC also directed to make similar arrangements with other provincial PSMA for the provision of sugar in other provinces/areas.

  • Babar Azam ka match say pehlay 100; Skipper becomes third Pak player to feature in 100th T20I

    Babar Azam ka match say pehlay 100; Skipper becomes third Pak player to feature in 100th T20I

    Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is all set to host the first T20 International (T20I) match between Pakistan and New Zealand on Friday night. Team Green and the Black Caps are all geared up to put up a brilliant game for their fans.

    When Pakistan captain Babar Azam takes the field on Friday night, he will become the third Pakistan player to feature in 100 Men’s T20Is.

    Shoaib Malik (123) and Mohammad Hafeez (119) are the two other Pakistanis who have reached this milestone in men’s T20Is.

    Fans will be expecting Babar Azam to hit his trademark cover drives and classy shots along with Muhammad Rizwan, his partner in many run chases.

    New Zealand will play five T20Is and five One-Day Internationals (ODI) in Pakistan starting from today.


    New Zealand captain Tom Latham has emphasized that Pakistan have a bunch of match winning players who can lead the team to victory in every sort of conditions.


    The Kiwi captain acknowledged his opponent team’s fast bowlers, quality spinners and a formidable batting lineup that could pose a threat to his team.

    “You can look at everyone across the Pakistan squad, they’ve got guys who bowl fast, quality spinners and obviously with the bat they have many match winners. So we have to play really well to beat them but it is an opportunity that the guys are really looking forward to play against this quality Pakistan side,” he said.

    The 31-year-old is optimistic about his team’s chances in the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan despite the absence of key players due to Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments.


    “Pakistan is a quality side, they have come off the back of their Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament just recently and they’ve picked guys who are in form, so even though we are missing a few players due to IPL commitments, that presents an opportunity to the other players,” he observed.

    Admitting that some players in the New Zealand team haven’t played “huge amounts of cricket”, Latham stressed that they still have players who have played a lot of T20 cricket.

    “So it is an exciting opportunity for this group to come here and to explore conditions where we haven’t played a lot in before and hopefully we can put up a good performance on the board,” he concluded.