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Tag: Pakistan

  • Gold price in Pakistan increases to Rs209,500 per tola on weak rupee and global trends

    Gold price in Pakistan increases to Rs209,500 per tola on weak rupee and global trends

    Gold prices in Pakistan increased on Monday, following global trends and a potential boost from a weakening rupee. As a result, yellow metal became more expensive, prompting traders to be cautious on the eve of a monetary policy meeting. According to data released by the All-Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA), the price of 24-carat gold increased by Rs1,200 per tola and Rs1,028 per 10 grams, settling at Rs209,500 and Rs164,645 respectively.

    In the inter-bank market, the rupee depreciated 0.44 per cent against the dollar on Monday, settling at 285.04, a loss of Rs1.25 according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). As inflation in Pakistan spirals out of control, the SBP is expected to raise the policy rate by 100-200 basis points. In March, consumer price inflation in Pakistan rose to a record 35.37 per cent from the previous year.

    Gold is commonly viewed as a hedge against inflation, increasing in value as the purchasing power of the dollar decreases. In Pakistan, March’s monthly inflation surpassed predictions, reaching almost an all-time high of 35.4 per cent compared to the previous year. This has resulted in many individuals experiencing financial difficulty as the cost of living continues to outstrip average incomes. Last month, the central bank raised the policy rate by 300 basis points to 20 per cent.

    On Monday, world gold prices rebounded as the dollar trimmed its initial gains, which were driven by bets that OPEC’s surprise output cuts could raise global energy prices and cause central banks to increase interest rates. Spot gold increased by 0.5 per cent to $1,977.43 per ounce by 1206 GMT, with US gold futures gaining 0.4 per cent to $1,994.50. Earlier in the session, gold hit a one-week low of $1,949.54.

    However, when interest rates are raised to curb rising price pressures, the appeal of gold as an asset diminishes as it does not pay interest. In the domestic market, silver prices increased by Rs80 per tola and Rs68.59 per 10 grams, settling at their all-time highs of Rs2,350 and Rs2,014.47 respectively. While the international prices of silver fell 0.3 per cent to $24.01 per ounce, platinum was also down 0.3 per cent to $988.60, and palladium rose 0.7 per cent to $1,470.72.

  • Supreme Court reserves decision over postponement of Punjab and KP elections

    Supreme Court reserves decision over postponement of Punjab and KP elections

    The Supreme Court has reserved its decision over Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) elections and will announce the decision tomorrow (Tuesday).

    The hearing of the case has been going on for the past week with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanding immediate elections.

    On February 22, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial took a suo motu notice of the delay in elections, forming a larger bench to hear the case but later many top judges excused themselves from the hearing.

    Today, the hearing was headed by a three-judge bench comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Bandial.

    Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) lawyers Irfan Qadir and Sajeel Swati, PTI lawyer Ali Zafar, and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) counsel Farooq H. Naek were present in the courtroom.

    At the outset of the hearing, Naek came to the rostrum. Justice Bandial asked the lawyer if PPP had ended its boycott against the court hearing to which the latter replied that he had not boycotted the proceedings.

    Naek replied in the affirmative and said that “we never boycotted the hearing”.

    At one point during the hearing, the CJP noted that harmony among judges was crucial for the Supreme Court. He observed that while judicial proceedings were made public, consultations among judges were considered internal matters.

  • ‘We can be like Turkiye or become another Myanmar’: Khan chooses to stand with constitution

    ‘We can be like Turkiye or become another Myanmar’: Khan chooses to stand with constitution

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that Pakistan is at a turning point.

    “Today we stand at a turning point in our Constitutional history where we can be like Turkiye or become another Myanmar,” tweeted Khan.

    The PTI leader went on to say, “Everyone must choose whether they stand, as PTI does, with Constitution, Rule of Law & democracy; or with a corrupt mafia, law of the jungle & fascism.”

  • Govt to send one million Pakistanis abroad for employment

    Govt to send one million Pakistanis abroad for employment

    The Government of Pakistan will send 1 million citizens abroad for employment, Tikka Sani has reported for Samaa. Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Sajid Hussain Turi, while talking to Samaa said that the ministry is working on signing work visa agreements with fifty countries including Germany.

    He continued by adding that Saudi authorities are coming to Pakistan soon to issue visas and citizens who pass technical training tests will be able to get the visa.

    The minister further said that Japan has also opened visas for Pakistani workers while South Korea has a demand for 10,000 skilled workers from Pakistan.

    The Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis said that 27,000 blocked passports of overseas Pakistanis have also been restored.

  • ‘Zip your lips’; Rashid Latif thinks Shadab’s statement angered PCB

    ‘Zip your lips’; Rashid Latif thinks Shadab’s statement angered PCB

    Former captain and wicketkeeper batsman Rashid Latif has said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that may be trying to punish Shadab Khan for speaking the truth.

    After losing the second T20 match against Afghanistan, Shadab Khan said that team management will now realise the importance of Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan, both of whom were rested for the series.

    The statement raised eyebrows among commentators, being interpreted as Shadab blaming the management for not sending star batsmen Babar and Rizwan for the series.


    Rashid Latif thinks that the statement has angered the Board and they now want to punish Shadab Khan by removing him as Vice-Captain.


    Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, and wicketkeeper, Mohammad Rizwan were rested from the recently-concluded Afghanistan series which Pakistan lost by 1-2.

    While reacting to the aforementioned news on his YouTube channel, Latif slammed the board for mentally torturing Pakistan cricketers.

    “One person is trying to speak the truth but they [PCB] are trying to zip his lips. Disturb him so much that he leaves cricket and makes him a psycho.

    Why do 90 percent of Pakistan players become psycho after leaving cricket? They become psycho because of Pakistan Cricket Board,” Latif said.

    “I don’t understand who brings these people on the board,” he concluded.

    Babar will once again be in the driving seat of Pakistan’s cricket team, resuming his responsibilities as captain in the series against New Zealand.
    The Kiwiswill arrive in Lahore and play three T20Is from 14-17 of April before traveling to Rawalpindi, where the final two T20Is and first ODI will be played from 20-26 of April.

    The tour will culminate in Karachi, with the remaining four ODIs to be played from April 30 to May 7.

  • ‘Mai in logon ke sath nahi bethoonga, meri team bethegi’: Khan refuses to sit with govt for talks

    ‘Mai in logon ke sath nahi bethoonga, meri team bethegi’: Khan refuses to sit with govt for talks

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that he will not sit with the government for dialogue, asserting that if any talks are held, his team will participate instead of him.

    “I will not sit with the government. And if any dialogues are held on the issue of elections alone, my team, not me, will participate,” said the PTI chief.

    “The dialogues should only be held on elections alone. However, I will not sit with those to whom I use to call thieves and corrupt,” he clarified. “And if the talks don’t go towards holding elections, then there is no benefit of dialogues,” he added.

    Khan had hoped that after former Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa retired, there will be some change in the treatment given to his party, however, he claimed that matters have become even more difficult than they were before.

    “We were hoping that when Gen Bajwa leaves, and there is change of command there would be some change. However, we have seen no change. Everything is the same, or I should say that the policies have intensified,” said Khan in an interview to news website Urdu.com on Sunday.

    Khan said that he was not in contact with the establishment. He further said if talks are held on elections alone, his party will talk to anyone. When asked if the establishment has something personal against Khan, he said that he can’t say much about this but he knows one thing for sure that Gen (retd) Bajwa caused a lot of oppression on PTI. “We used to ask the police they would say that we have orders from higher ups,” he stated.

    Talking about forced disappearances, Khan said that he knew who was responsible for taking away PTI social media activist Azhar Mashwani.

    “We knew who took Azhar Mashwani. It was neither police who was involved nor FIA. We know which agency was behind it,” said Khan.

    “There are actually scared. They only want my complete blackout. They have banned me on media and now they’re after my social media presence,” said Khan.

  • TRIGGER WARNING- ‘If rape is imminent, then enjoy it’: PPP’s Nabil Gabol’s disgusting remarks once again get slammed on social media

    Trigger warning: rape jokes, kidnapping, assault, sexual harassment

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) politician Nabil Gabol has proved that one can be a legislator in the highest offices and yet resort to making extremely offensive, misogynist jokes whenever they can.

    Twitter users have decried PPP for claiming that they are a progressive party, but providing important positions to men like Gabol who make misogynist and degrading comments about women on public platforms. A clip from a YouTube podcast, The Pakistan Experience with host Shehzad Ghias, is going viral on Twitter where Gabol was a guest and where he said: “When rape is imminent, then just enjoy it.”

    To which activists like Soul Sister’s Founder Kanwal Ahmed responded with “Gross”.

    Journalist Zebunnisa Burki shared the clip on her Twitter page and lamented the fact that men in powerful positions are never held accountable for talking about women in a vulgar manner like he has.

    Founder of ‘Digital Rights Foundation’ and lawyer Nighat Dad criticized Gabol on her Twitter account for casually using rape as a punchline because of the way it malign’s the struggles of survivors of sexual violence, and especially called for politicians to be held accountable for their words because they hold positions of power and influence.

    https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1642617390767677441?s=20

    Dad also shared a clip from Gabol’s previous interview with Youtuber Nadir Ali which took place in 2022, where the politician was seen making sexually suggestive comments about women politicians.

    https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1642625211735457794?s=20

    In the same interview, a user shared a clip of Gabol openly claiming that he kidnaps girls and takes them under his possession.

    Recently, Gabol had given an interview to Nadir Ali, where a Twitter users shamed him for his sexual comments about the TikTok star Ayesha, and for asking for her number.

    https://twitter.com/shezanmango/status/1642158091625201665?s=20

    Writer and columnist Fatima Bhutto shared the clip from Gabol’s interview with Ghias, and in the caption she condemned his comments for exposing the ‘criminal mindset of the Sindh government.”

    Bakhtawar Bhutto, the sister of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, condemned Gabol on Monday morning in a tweet.

    His (repulsive) rhetoric belongs to his individual only & is in noway a representation of our party. Incase it wasn’t already abundantly obvious- we absolutely & unequivocally stand for the rights & protection of women. Misogyny has no space in our religion nor our party.”

    However, users demanded that Gabol be removed from the party, calling the tweet a tone-deaf response to criticism.

    Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman has responded to the controversy in a tweet saying that strict action was underway.

  • Muhammad Amir gears up to comeback in international cricket

    Muhammad Amir gears up to comeback in international cricket

    Selectors of the national cricket team have hinted that left-arm fast bowler Muhammad Amir is gearing up to wear the Pakistan cricket team kit once again.

    Sources have said that an important official of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently met Muhammad Amir’s manager and gave a green signal to the left-arm pacer by advising him to be prepared while gearing up for a comeback.


    According to a media report, the selector has warned Amir to just focus on his cricket and avoid giving unnecessary statements in the media, which might create controversy.

    The report further added that he will soon be asked to take his retirement back, so he needs to keep practicing and keep himself fit till then.

    Amir called time on his international career in 2020 in protest over the treatment he had received from the then-management, led by Misbah ul Haq.

    However, after Najam Sethi took charge of PCB, the management committee chairman said in a media interaction that Amir would be considered for selection like other players, if he takes his retirement back.

    “Mohammad Amir can play international cricket for Pakistan if he takes his retirement back. I always took a strong stance against match-fixing. I believe no convicted player should be spared, but at the same time, a player should be allowed to resume international cricket once he has completed his years of penalty,” said Sethi.


    Muhammad Amir is the key-bowler for Karachi Kings. The bowler’s remarks often land him into controversy.

    Despite retiring, Amir continues to play in leagues around the world and recently represented Karachi Kings in Pakistan Super League (PSL).
    Recently Pakistan’s former captain wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed praised Amir, stating that he is better than any other left-arm pacer on the team right now.

  • Nadra confirms data theft of Army Chief’s family

    Nadra confirms data theft of Army Chief’s family

    In a news report published on Sunday in The News, it was stated that the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) is set to finalise an inquiry identifying those behind a data leak involving the incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir’s family.

    Journalist Azaz Syed wrote that NADRA has issued a detailed statement confirming the data theft of Army Chief’s family, according to the same news outlet.

    According to the report, “Nadra finalises probe into illegal access to COAS family’s data, dated April 02, 2023, it is to clarify that the subject probe into illegal access to COAS family’s data is a continuation of Nadra’s stringent measures to protect the citizens’ data from unauthorised access, when he sought help from premier security agency upon assumption of charge as chairman Nadra in June 2021.”

    Multiple users of different organisations had accessed General Asim Munir’s data before he was appointed COAS. Other than Nadra, nine institutions, including law enforcement agencies, banks and housing authorities, accessed the COAS’s family data.

    About the ongoing inquiry, COAS’s family data was accessed in absence of Nadra Chairman Tariq Malik, who was on ex-Pakistan leave (on official assignment) in November 2022.

    Last November, illegally-accessed information was reportedly used in an attempt to block the appointment of the current army chief.

    In October 2022, five senior Lieutenant-Generals were contending for the position of Pakistan’s new army chief. During this time, a junior data entry operator at NADRA, Farooq Ahmed, allegedly accessed the data of a female family member of Gen Munir and collected the family’s details and identity card numbers.

    This data was later used in the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) to track international travel destinations the family had travelled to.

    The prime minister had an investigation launched into the data leak.

    As regards to the ongoing probe into the COAS family’s data, the NADRA chairman ordered the inquiry which is in the closing phase. Culprits, from DGs to the data entry operators, have been identified.

  • Ishaq Dar to attend IMF, World Bank meetings in US

    Ishaq Dar to attend IMF, World Bank meetings in US

    Finance Minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, will lead a delegation to the United States to attend the annual spring meeting of the Breton Wood Institutions (BWIs), comprising the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, from April 10 to 16.

    The delegation includes officials from the Finance and Economic Affairs Division and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor. The delegation is expected to present new proposals to the IMF and World Bank for the provision of dollar inflows.

    IMF and Pakistan will also discuss the possibility of combining the remaining 10th and 11th reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, worth $6.5 billion, if the pending 9th review is completed. The EFF program, signed in 2019, is set to expire on June 30, 2023, and cannot be extended beyond the deadline.

    The delay in the 9th Review’s completion, scheduled for December 2022, has resulted in the delay of the 10th Review, which was to start in February 2023. The 11th Review was scheduled to begin on May 3. The delay in the 9th Review will increase the cost of correcting the situation.

    The government of Pakistan has taken difficult decisions to revive the IMF program, but there is no easy solution to the country’s ailing economy. The IMF is seeking verification from Pakistan’s bilateral friends, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, to provide additional assistance of $6 billion until the end of June 2023.

    SBP’s foreign exchange reserves currently stand at $4.2 billion, which is insufficient to meet obligations related to foreign debt servicing, including principal and markup. It remains to be seen how the completion of the bailout program will proceed, given the delay in the 10th Review.