Current Final

Tag: Prime Minister Imran Khan

  • ‘Govt collected Rs644bn taxes against target of Rs580bn’

    ‘Govt collected Rs644bn taxes against target of Rs580bn’

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has succeeded in collecting Rs644 billion taxes against the envisaged target of Rs580 billion, Adviser to Prime Minister (PM) on Finance and Revenue Dr Hafeez Shaikh has said.

    Addressing a press conference, Shaikh said the government is confident to surpass the growth target of 2.4 per cent set for the current fiscal year as after gaining stability on the external front during the past year, the economy is currently moving in a positive direction.

    “There has been considerable growth in exports, which grew from $2.01 billion during first two months of last year to $2.23 billion this year, while imports have declined from $5 billion to $4.1 billion, reducing overall current account deficit of the country by 7.3 per cent.”

    PM Imran Khan’s adviser also said that the overall revenue has increased from Rs509 billion during the first two months of the last year to Rs580 billion during the current year, showing a 25 per cent growth.

  • ‘Nawaz, Zardari ready for plea bargain if Imran quits politics’

    ‘Nawaz, Zardari ready for plea bargain if Imran quits politics’

    Former jailed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari are ready to strike a deal for their release on the condition that PM Imran Khan leaves politics, senior journalist Dr Moeed Pirzada has said.

    Sharing a “theory doing rounds in political quarters”, while hosting “Hard Talk Pakistan” television programme on a private media outlet Monday night, the journalist said that the two incarcerated leaders were ready to pay even more than $10 billion, but do not want to plead guilty.

    “They are seeking plea bargains and might pay up to $20 billion, but are not ready to confess. They’re ready to leave the country but want a future for their children in politics,” he said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Rumours are rife for the past few days as several journalists claim an underhand deal allegedly being negotiated between political leaders jailed over corruption charges and the PM Imran-led government.

    No official statements have made headlines as of yet.

  • ‘CM Buzdar likely to lose his job’

    ‘CM Buzdar likely to lose his job’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has held one-on-one meetings with Punjab information and culture as well as higher education ministers, fueling rumours that Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar’s job might be at risk, Pakistan Today has reported.

    According to reports, Info Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and Higher Education’s Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz are being considered for the slot of Punjab CM in Buzdar’s place.

    Some powerful circles in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are making efforts to elevate Iqbal to the top slot and it is quite likely that he will be appointed as the next provincial chief executive, reports said.

    “I talked to the PM about information technology and Iqbal must have talked to him about his own ministry,” the English daily quoted Yasir as saying. “The premier is satisfied with the provincial cabinet’s performance and there are no changes expected soon.”

    Meanwhile, sources also confirmed The Current that no such development was on cards.

    The representative of Dera Ghazi Khan’s PP-286 constituency since his 2018 electoral win, Buzdar was nominated as PTI’s candidate for the office of Punjab CM in August last year.

    His nomination by PM Imran had surprised many within the party and subsequent election as the provincial chief executive had left the opposition stunned. Despite criticism, PM Imran has time and again reiterated his support for CM Buzdar.

  • Naya Pakistan: FBR collects Rs580bn, petrol price decreased by Rs4.59

    Naya Pakistan: FBR collects Rs580bn, petrol price decreased by Rs4.59

    In two rare but good developments, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs580 billion within the first two months of the new fiscal year whereas the price of petrol has been slashed by Rs4.59 after successive escalation over the past few months.

    As per the details, FBR collected Rs297.4 billion this month, despite 8-10 non-working days. “So far, FBR’s target for FY2019-20 has been achieved to the extent of 90 per cent. Rs580 billion against the target of Rs644 billion,” the FBR chief was quoted as saying.

    “The positive aspects for the two months of FY2019-20 are that imports during the two months decreased by $1 billion,” he said, adding that the positive effect is taken into account, collection during the past two months is in line with the target.

    Meanwhile, according to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry, the prices of high-speed diesel, kerosene oil and light diesel have been lowered by Rs5.33, Rs4.27 and Rs5.63 per litre, respectively.

    The notification (effective September 1) came amid confusing statements by some cabinet members. The government had earlier issued a notification, stating ‘mistakenly’ that the price of high-speed diesel has been reduced by Rs7.67.

  • PM Imran, Gandhi’s great grandson on same page against extremist RSS?

    PM Imran, Gandhi’s great grandson on same page against extremist RSS?

    A day after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that the ideology of the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had taken over India, a much similar statement of the great grandson of independent India’s founding father Mahatma Gandhi, has emerged.

    “The RSS ideology has taken over India, the way the Nazi party had taken over Germany,” the premier had said while addressing a Kashmir Hour gathering on Friday. “They think that Muslims should be taught a lesson, that they are not equal citizens. Today, the whole world is seeing what is happening in Kashmir.”

    With the premier’s words being widely shared over the internet, it wasn’t later that someone pointed out their similarity with an earlier statement by Gandhi’s great grandson, Tushar Gandhi.

    Addressing a gathering earlier this year, he had called for fighting the ideology of RSS, which he said was trying to divide India.

    Tushar, who is the son of Mahatma’s grandson Arun, had said that Gandhiwadis (believers of the Gandhian philosophy) can remain neutral, but those who call themselves Gandhi’s workers, cannot do the same in the present era as the RSS was threatening the very ideals espoused by Gandhi.

    “I do not hate the RSS functionaries. But I oppose RSS… that idea, which is dividing the country… I do not say that others have not done this. We oppose them as well. We will have to protest, otherwise, we don’t deserve to be called Gandhi’s workers.”

    PM Imran’s Friday address wasn’t the first time when he called out his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s regime for being inspired by the RSS.

    In two loaded tweets on the eve of Eidul Azha, he had tweeted, “The curfew, crackdown and impending genocide of Kashmiris in IoK [Indian occupied Kashmir] is unfolding exactly according to [the] RSS ideology inspired by Nazi ideology. Attempt is to change demography of Kashmir through ethnic cleansing. Question is: Will the world watch & appease as they did Hitler at Munich?”

    “I am afraid this RSS ideology of Hindu Supremacy, like the Nazi Aryan Supremacy, will not stop in IoK; instead it will lead to suppression of Muslims in India and eventually lead to targeting of Pakistan. The Hindu Supremacists version of Hitler’s Lebensraum,” he had said further.

  • PM Imran’s office likely to lose electricity over non-payment of bills

    PM Imran’s office likely to lose electricity over non-payment of bills

    The supply of electricity to the Prime Minister’s (PM) Secretariat is likely to be snapped over non-payment of bills running into millions, Khaleej Times has reported.

    According to reports, the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has also issued a notice in this regard as the secretariat currently owes the distributor over Rs4 million in power bills.

    “This is a recurrent problem with the secretariat. We will cut off the power supply if dues are not paid,” reports quoted sources in the IESCO as saying and added that the dues had not been cleared despite several reminder notices being sent.

    Meanwhile, the country’s annual fiscal deficit has reportedly risen to the highest in the last three decades at 8.9 per cent for the financial year 2018-19.

    Fiscal deficit is the difference between revenues and expenditures of a federal government. According to reports, the deficit that increased to 8.9 per cent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product in the financial year that ended in June, was recorded at 6.6 per cent last year.

    The figure that depicts the situation of the country’s crippling economy, coincides with one-year completion of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

  • PM Imran likely to appoint Fawad Chaudhry as his spokesperson

    PM Imran likely to appoint Fawad Chaudhry as his spokesperson

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has reportedly decided to appoint Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry as his spokesperson in Nadeem Afzal Chan’s place.

    According to reports, the minister will serve as the premier’s spokesperson in addition to managing his science and technology portfolio.

    The current spokesperson, Chan, who is also the PM Imran’s special assistant on parliamentary coordination, wants to step down citing his “inability to carry on holding the post”.

    The premier has requested Fawad, a media affairs expert, to replace Chan, The Express Tribune reported, adding that the PM’s Office will issue a formal notification within a few days.

  • ‘PTI govt spent dams fund on its utility bills,’ journalist claims

    ‘PTI govt spent dams fund on its utility bills,’ journalist claims

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has spent the Supreme Court (SC) and Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan’s Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund on utility bills, anchorperson Ayesha Bakhsh has claimed.

    “I have been told that billions of rupees raised for the dams have been spent on utility bills by the government,” the journalist alleged while hosting “Face To Face With Ayesha Bakhsh” on GNN.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    It wasn’t later that Bakhsh was called out for “spreading fake news” since the official fundraising webpage clearly states:

    “NBP [National Bank of Pakistan] has made investments in market treasury bills, as detailed above, in compliance with the Supreme Court of Pakistan orders in Case C.M.A. No. 6155 of 2018 in Constitution Petition No. 57 of 2016.”

    While the journalist seems to have confused investments in treasury bills with utility bills, people did not let go of the blunder easy.

    The allegations were also reported to the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA), which took action against the journalist and issued a press statement on its Twitter handle:

    “PEMRA has issued a show-cause notice over the false and baseless analysis aired on GNN,” the statement read. It added that the analysis was in violation of the SC’s orders as well as PEMRA regulations.

    Seeking the channel’s response, the media watchdog also warned of action under relevant laws.

    Meanwhile, Bakhsh has clarified:

    DAMS FUND:

    Established in July 2018 by then chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar, the dams fund is aimed at raising funds for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams.

    Later, PM Imran Khan also announced joining hands with the CJP for the cause, which resulted in the fund crossing the Rs10 billion mark after generous donations by both resident and overseas Pakistanis.

    After investments in treasury bills, the current account balance of the fund stands at Rs17 million.

  • Naya Pakistan: Communications Ministry generates record revenue of Rs43.32 billion in a year

    Naya Pakistan: Communications Ministry generates record revenue of Rs43.32 billion in a year

    The Ministry of Communications has registered over a 52 per cent increase in its annual revenue during the first year of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

    According to the one-year performance report of the PTI issued Monday, the ministry generated record revenue of Rs43.32 billion during the fiscal year 2018-19, as compared to Rs28.64 billion in the fiscal year 2017-18, witnessing an increase of over Rs14 billion.

    The ministry has so far recovered Rs7 billion through audits. In addition, a new system containing facilities such as e-billing, e-tendering and a mobile app has been introduced by the ministry to enhance transparency.

    In the head of accountability, total audit recoveries of Rs7.02 billion were made in 2018-19, whereas no recoveries were made in 2017-18.

    A special audit of delayed projects of the National Highway Authority, including Lyari Expressway, Khuzdar-Shahdadkot Highway(M-8), Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab Highway (M-8), Lowari Tunnel (N-45) Civil Works, and Kalat-Quetta-Chaman Highway (N-25) was also ordered.

    During past one year, NHA launched an anti-encroachment drive under which 3,347 encroachments were removed and 448.25-kanal land was recaptured. The estimated cost of the vacated land stood at Rs2.503 billion.

  • VIDEO: Babar Awan says Fazlur Rehman, Modi ‘not that different’

    VIDEO: Babar Awan says Fazlur Rehman, Modi ‘not that different’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former adviser to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan, has said that Jamiat Ulemae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Indian PM Narendra Modi “speak the same language”.

    “Modi says that he wants to take over Muzaffarabad, while Fazl has announced his plans to do the same with Islamabad,” he said while speaking to media persons Saturday.

    He said that Fazl, who is the former chairperson of the Kashmir Committee, should’ve made headlines for being caught while attempting to cross the Line of Control (LoC) to conquer Kashmir, however, what has been reported is the religiopolitical leader’s threat to the government.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://youtu.be/kf34wHh1-3U

    “India is threatening to attack Azad Kashmir and Maulana is threatening to take over Islamabad,” Awan said, adding that there was no difference between Modi and Fazl’s language.

    Taking a jibe at the opposition for its forthcoming All Parties Conference (APC), PM’s former aide also said that considering the votes secured by the parties in the 2018 general election, it was nothing but a “few parties conference”.