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The external financing is needed to fully fund the balance of payments gap for the fiscal year that ends in June. Last week Saudi Arabia also told the IMF it would provide financing of $2 billion to Pakistan. Dar has said Pakistan has given details of the scheme to the IMF, which has asked how it would it find the resources needed. The IMF program will disburse another tranche of $1.4 billion to Pakistan before it concludes in June. Reporting by Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, writing by by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The meeting agreed to launch an all-out comprehensive operation with the entire nation and the government, which will rid the country of the menace of terrorism with renewed vigor and determination," the security committee said in a statement. Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country of 220 million people, has seen a rise in attacks by Islamist militants in the last few months, particularly since negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group broke down last year. The court has already rejected the government's argument, but Friday's security committee statement brings with it the key endorsement of Pakistan's powerful military. It (the government) gets the military's backing without the military giving any sort of political statement," Hussain added. Pakistan's military has ruled the country for over 30 years out of its 75-year history and continues to wield enormous power.

[1/2] A supporter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, walks with a riot shield used by the police, during a clash outside the federal judicial complex in Islamabad, Pakistan March 18, 2023. "Around 285 PTI supporters have been arrested in Lahore and Islamabad. Khan, a former cricket star, was prime minister from 2018 until 2022, when he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote. His successor as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has rejected his demand and said an election would be held as scheduled later this year. Clashes between Khan's supporters and the security forces have brought a new round of political chaos to Pakistan, which is in the midst of a crippling economic crisis.

☆ Exclusive: Pakistan's Imran Khan: committee to lead party if I'm arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government has denied being behind the cases. Khan said there is no reason he should be arrested now, because he had bail on all his cases. The police attempt to arrest Khan led to clashes in which dozens of people were injured. The former prime minister has generated popular support among Pakistanis amid decades-high inflation and a crippling economic slowdown as the country implements painful fiscal reforms to avert default.

The area, part of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, is a hotbed for fighters of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of Sunni Islamist groups. A TTP spokesman, Muhammad Khurasani, told Reuters its main target was Pakistan's military, but the police were standing in the way. "Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa pays a greater price for that" because of its exposure to the Islamist militants, he said. The TTP ended the ceasefire in November 2022, and regrouped militants restarted attacks in Pakistan soon after. Reporting by Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Jibran Ahmad in Bara, Pakistan; additional reporting by Saud Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan; editing by David Crawshaw.

☆ U.S. concerned about debt Pakistan owes China, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The United States is concerned about debt owed to China by Pakistan and other countries, U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet said on Thursday during a visit to Islamabad as the country dealt with an economic crisis. Pakistan, historically a close ally of Washington, has become increasingly close to China, which has provided billions in loans and is Islamabad's largest single creditor. Pakistan faces a crippling economic crisis, with decades-high inflation and critically low foreign exchange reserves depleted by continued debt repayment obligations. Cholett said Washington was talking to Islamabad about the "perils" of a closer relationship with Beijing, but would not ask Pakistan to choose between the United States and China. Officials from China and the United States will be part of a multi-country meeting of a new sovereign debt roundtable on Friday.

MUMBAI/ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Inflation in Pakistan could average 33% in the first half of 2023 before trending lower, and a bailout from the International Monetary Fund alone is unlikely to put the economy back on track, a senior economist with Moody's Analytics told Reuters. "Our view is that an IMF bailout alone isn't going to be enough to get the economy back on track. What the economy really needs is persistent and sound economic management," senior economist Katrina Ell said in an interview on Wednesday. Low income households could remain under extreme pressure as a result of high inflation on account of being disproportionately exposed to non-discretionary items. The weaker rupee, which is plumbing record lows, is adding to imported inflation while domestically high energy costs on the back of tariff increases and still elevated food prices is likely to keep inflation high.

☆ Exclusive: Pakistan plans to quadruple domestic coal-fired power, move away from gas
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"LNG is no longer part of the long-term plan," Pakistan Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan told Reuters, adding that the country plans to increase domestic coal-fired power capacity to 10 gigawatts (GW) in the medium-term, from 2.31 GW currently. "We have some of the world's most efficient regasified LNG-based power plants. The Shanghai Electric (601727.SS) Thar plant, a 1.32 GW capacity plant that runs on domestic coal and is funded under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), started producing power last week. In addition to the coal-fired plants, Pakistan also plans to boost its solar, hydro and nuclear power fleet, Dastgir said, without elaborating. The maximum power demand met by Pakistan during the year ended June 2022 was 28.25 GW, more than 35% lower than power generation capacity of 43.77 GW.

☆ IMF, Pakistan to resume talks on unlocking bailout funds, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The two could not reach a deal last week and a visiting IMF delegation departed Islamabad after 10 days of talks, but said negotiations would continue. Pakistan is in dire need of funds as it battles a wrenching economic crisis. Talks centre around reaching an agreement on a reforms agenda under the country's $6.5 billion bailout programme, which it entered in 2019. A resumption of the IMF programme would also unlock other avenues of funding for Pakistan. An agreement, if reached, would still need to be cleared by the IMF board.

"I can't imagine Pakistan not going on a back-to-back IMF programme." Pakistan's debt problemsPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s main election challenger is former cricket star Imran Khan, who was removed from the job last April but retains popularity. "There is just a long-term indebtedness problem," said Jeff Grills, the head of emerging markets debt at Aegon Asset Management, who held Pakistan bonds until the floods hit. Most of Pakistan's bonds are still trading at less than half their face value. Reuters GraphicsDIFFICULT TIMESSuch a restructuring of Pakistan's bonds would represent its first international default since 1999, according to the Bank of Canada-Bank of England Sovereign Default Database.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Pakistan's energy ministry said on Tuesday it had restored its national power grid nearly 24 hours after a breakdown triggered the worst outage in months, highlighting the frailty of the aid-dependant nation's infrastructure. All 1,112 grid stations were back online, a senior government official told Reuters, adding that electricity would be fully restored across the country once power generation units were back up. The outage, which began on Monday morning during the peak winter season, is the second major grid failure to hit the nation of 220 million people since October, though there are partial blackouts almost daily. Residents in major cities said they now had electricity, but some areas of the country were still without power. China has invested in its power sector as part of a $60 billion infrastructure scheme that feeds into Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative.

In November, the State Bank of Pakistan's Monetary Policy Committee unexpectedly pushed up its key rate by 100 bps, meaning it has now raised it by a total of 725 bps since January 2022. The country - struggling after last year's devastating nationwide floods - posted a 24.5% annual inflation rate in January. Although some moderation was seen in inflation in November and December, it remains high and core inflation has been on a rising trend for the last 10 months, the central bank added. The lack of fresh financial inflows and ongoing debt repayments have led to a steady drawdown in official reserves, the central bank said. "The current account deficit narrowed by around 60 percent to $3.7 billion in H1-FY23," the central bank said.

☆ Thousands of mobile phone towers go offline in Pakistan after power outage - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Thousands of mobile phone towers have gone offline across Pakistan due to a nationwide power cut on Monday, an industry source told Reuters, raising the spectre of a telecommunications blackout in parts of the country of 220 million people. The disruption has begun hitting the country's approximately 40,000 telecommunication towers. Separately, the country's telecommunication regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), warned of outages. "Due to country wide power outage, users may face service disruptions," PTA said in a statement. A spokesperson for PTA did not respond to a question on how many of Pakistan's telecommunication towers were offline.

"It's not just me and my children, future generations from our community in Jammu and Kashmir will vote for the BJP." A BJP victory in the disputed region could consolidate India's claim over the territory on the global stage. "We have taken a pledge to cross 50-plus seats to form the next government with a thumping majority," the BJP's president for Jammu and Kashmir, Ravinder Raina, told Reuters. Jammu has about 5.3 million inhabitants, 62% of whom are Hindu while Kashmir Valley has 6.7 million, 97% of them Muslim, according to a 2011 census. Previously unreported official records show just over 5.3 million certificates had been issued as of September.

☆ Pakistan's finance minister to meet IMF in Geneva, with bailout stalled
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 8 (Reuters) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation will meet Pakistan's finance minister on the sidelines of a conference in Geneva beginning on Jan. 9, a spokesperson of the lender said on Sunday, as Pakistan struggles to restart its bailout programme. "The IMF delegation is expected to meet with Finance Minister (Ishaq) Dar on the sidelines of the Geneva conference to discuss outstanding issues and the path forward," a spokesperson of the IMF said in a message to Reuters. The conference in Geneva, co-hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, will look to gather international support for the country in the aftermath of devastating floods last year. Dar has been critical of the IMF lately, publicly saying that the lender was acting "abnormally" in its dealings with Pakistan, which entered the $7 billion bailout programme in 2019. The IMF spokesperson also said its Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had a "constructive call" with Sharif regarding the Geneva conference and supported Pakistan's efforts to rebuild.

☆ Pakistan to shut malls, markets early in energy saving plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Pakistan's government has ordered all malls and markets to close by 8:30 p.m. among other measures in a new energy conservation plan, the defence minister said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with an economic crisis. Khawaja Asif told journalists the cabinet-approved measures to shut markets, including restaurants, aimed to save the cash-strapped country about 62 billion Pakistani rupees ($273 million). Pakistan's total liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $11.7 billion - $5.8 billion with the central bank - as of late last month, having fallen 50% in 2022. Asif said the energy conservation plan also included banning the production of energy inefficient bulbs and fans from February and July respectively. ($1 = 226.7500 Pakistani rupees)Reporting by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pakistan says it has provided list of nuclear facilities to India under annual practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Pakistan said it had handed a list of its nuclear installations and facilities to the Indian mission in Islamabad on Sunday under a decades-old agreement between the two nuclear-armed rivals. It said lists are exchanged annually on Jan 1 and that India had simultaneously handed over a list to the Pakistani mission in New Delhi. Pakistan first officially tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and has since developed a significant stockpile of nuclear capable missiles, as has India. The list included 705 Indian prisoners detained in Pakistan, including 51 civilians and 654 fishermen, the statement said. It added that the Indian government also shared with the Pakistani mission in New Delhi a list of 434 Pakistani prisoners in India, including 339 civilians and 95 fishermen.

☆ Pakistan FX reserves held by central bank fall to $6.7 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank fell $784 million to $6.7 billion as of Dec. 2, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday, as the country struggles to meet external financing needs. "This decline is on account of the payment of US $1,000 million against maturing Pakistan International Sukuk and some other external debt repayments," the statement said. It said some debt repayments were offset by inflows, mainly $500 million received from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Local media reported on Thursday that Pakistan had sought $4.2 billion from Saudi Arabia to shore up its reserves. Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates have already parked funds in Pakistan's central bank to help Islamabad.

☆ Pakistan repays $1 bln international bond -central bank spokesman
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan repaid a $1 billion international bond, the central bank spokesman said on Friday, amidst growing uncertainty about the country's ability to meet external financing obligations. "The payment (was) made to Citibank New York," State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) spokesman Abid Qamar told Reuters in a message. The bond repayment, which matures on Dec. 5, totals $1.08 billion, the central bank chief said last week. During the week ended Nov. 25, SBP reserves stood at $7,498.7 million. Saudi Arabia on Friday also extended the term of a $3 billion deposit it has in Pakistan's foreign reserves.

☆ Explainer: Why Pakistan's army chief matters far beyond its borders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Even when a civilian government holds power, Pakistan's generals retain a dominant influence over security matters and foreign affairs. He later headed Pakistan's two most influential intelligence agencies - Military Intelligence (MI) in 2017 and then the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in 2018. WHY IT MATTERS GLOBALLYPakistan's army chief will play a key role in managing risks of conflict with nuclear-armed rival India on its eastern border, while dealing with potential instability and friction with Afghanistan on its western frontier. The incoming army chief could potentially play a key role in lowering the political temperature as Pakistan attempts to survive an economic crisis and recover from historic floods. He even summoned Pakistan's top industrialists to a meeting at army headquarters to encourage them to pay more tax.

ISLAMABAD, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Thursday named Lieutenant-General Asim Munir as chief of the army, an organisation that plays an extraordinarily influential role in the governance of the nuclear-armed nation. Munir, who was also Pakistan's chief spy, will take over from outgoing General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retires later this month after a six-year term, the defence ministry said. "It is based on merit, law and as per constitution," Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters after announcing the Munir as the new chief. On Wednesday, outgoing army chief Bajwa said the military would have no role in national politics in the future, rejecting as "fake and false" Khan's claims that a U.S.-backed conspiracy topped his government. Reporting by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Neil Fullick and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Substantial majority" of Fed officials see rate hikes slowing 'soon,' -minutes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The key point was the officials said the terminal rate is likely to be higher than previously expected, but the market already knows that. "There may be a little bit of a surprise that the majority supports slower rate hikes ahead...As you can see the markets have gained a little bit of upward momentum since the minutes were released." MICHAEL JAMES, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EQUITY TRADING, WEDBUSH SECURITIES, LOS ANGELES"Multiple Fed governors indicated a slowing in the pace of rate hikes, which is pretty much exactly what equity markets needed to hear. Merely the fact that they're going to be slowing the pace confirms what the majority of people have been hoping to see. "What equity markets needed to see for the recent strength to continue was what we got from the minutes."

☆ Bank of England confirms start of new gilt sale programme
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( David Milliken | Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The BoE intends to offer gilts for sale on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, giving minimum prices that it will accept before each sale. "There will be instances when the Bank could sell a larger volume of gilts if demand is particularly strong, but also times when the Bank will sell few or no gilts if there is insufficient demand," the BoE said. On days when the DMO had held a long-dated gilt auction, the BoE would only sell index-linked gilts and vice versa. The BoE said it would publish details of the gilt sales as soon as possible after each sales window closed. ($1 = 0.8312 pounds)Reporting by David Milliken, Editing by Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Who Pakistan picks as army chief matters far beyond its borders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Even when a civilian government holds power, Pakistan's generals retain a dominant influence over security matters and foreign affairs. BAJWA'S LEGACYAppointed chief in 2016, Bajwa sought to balance ties with China and the United States. He even summoned Pakistan's top industrialists to a meeting at army headquarters to encourage them to pay more tax. WHY IT MATTERS GLOBALLYPakistan's army chief will play a key role in managing risks of conflict with nuclear-armed rival India on its eastern border, while dealing with potential instability and friction with Afghanistan on its western frontier. The incoming army chief could potentially play a key role in lowering the political temperature as Pakistan attempts to survive an economic crisis and recover from historic floods.

There was a lot of bleeding," Fawad Chaudhry, a spokesperson for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, told Reuters. "I heard a burst of bullet shots after which I saw Imran Khan and his aides fall down on the truck," witness Qazzafi Butt told Reuters. "Later, a gunman shot a single shot but was grabbed by an activist of Khan's party." [1/7] Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is helped after he was shot in the shin in Wazirabad, Pakistan November 3, 2022 in this still image obtained from video. Her father and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in the same city in 1979 after being deposed in a military coup.

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