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☆ Clashes between Pakistan police, former PM Khan's supporters injure several
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A few hundred Khan supporters gathered outside his house after a police team arrived from Islamabad to arrest him on a court order, government spokesman Amir Mir told Reuters. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers started the violence, which injured several police officials, Mir said, adding, "If Imran Khan ensures his presence in the court, it will be good, otherwise the law will take its course." "If something happens to me, or sent to jail, or they kill me, you've to prove that this nation will continue to struggle even without Imran Khan." Several of Khan's supporters were injured when the police resorted to teargas shelling, witnesses said. The workers started pelting the police with stones and bricks, and in response police directed a water cannon at them and in some cases baton charged them, he said.

☆ Pakistani police serve arrest warrants to former PM Imran Khan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistani police on Sunday served arrest warrants to former prime minister Imran Khan to ensure his appearance in court on charges of misusing his office to sell state gifts, authorities said, after Khan's supporters tried to prevent police entry into his home. The Federal Investigation Agency then filed charges against him in an anti-graft court, which last week issued the arrest warrants after Khan failed to appear in court despite repeated summons. He led countrywide protest campaigns to press for an early vote last year and was shot at and wounded at one of the rallies. Chaudhry said the government wanted to sow political chaos and avoid an early election by arresting the former premier, who was still popular among the country's youth and urban voters. Islamabad police said in a statement that when Khan wasn't found at his residence in Lahore, they served the arrest warrants.

☆ Death toll in Italian migrant shipwreck rises to 61
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS TV via REUTERSROME, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The death toll in a migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast has risen to 61, an Italian official told Reuters on Monday, as searches continued for missing people. A total of 61 people have been found dead so far, while 80 were rescued, said Manuela Curra, a provincial government official. The vessel was carrying people from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and the victims included 12 children, authorities said earlier. Based on reports from survivors, authorities believe 180 to 200 people in total had been on board the vessel, she added. Charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), operating on the ground, said they were assisting several people who had lost relatives in the shipwreck.

☆ Over two dozen Pakistanis drowned in Italy migrant shipwreck - PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Carabinieri officers work at the beach where bodies believed to be of refugees were found after a shipwreck, in Cutro, the eastern coast of Italy’s Calabria region, Italy, February 26, 2023. REUTERS/Giuseppe PipitaISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said over two dozen Pakistanis were believed to be among 59 people who drowned when a boat carrying migrants to Europe crashed against rocks near the southern Italian coast. At least 81 people survived Sunday's accident, with 20 hospitalised including one person in intensive care, Italian authorities said. Italy is one of the main landing points for the migrants trying to enter Europe by sea, with many seeking to travel on to northern European nations. The United Nations Missing Migrants Project has registered more than 17,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014.

☆ China lends Pakistan further $700 mln to shore up FX reserves
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"This amount is expected to be received this week by State Bank of Pakistan which will shore up its forex reserves," Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Twitter. A finance ministry official said the loan was in addition to other facilities that China has already extended to Pakistan. China Development Bank did not respond to a faxed request for comment. Addressing his cabinet, he said the government was focusing on austerity as a top priority. China is already Pakistan's single largest creditor with its commercial banks holding about 30% of its external debt.

☆ U.S. delegation to visit Pakistan as two sides seek to repair ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet will lead a delegation to Pakistan this week as Washington and Islamabad seek to repair ties strained under former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The U.S. delegation will visit Bangladesh and Pakistan from Feb. 14-18 to meet with senior government officials, civil society members and business leaders, the State Department said in a statement on Monday. Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament last April, had antagonized the United States throughout his tenure. Washington and Pakistan's National Security Council, a body of top civil and military leaders, dismissed his accusations. "The delegation will also reaffirm the strong security cooperation between our nations," the State Department said on Monday.

☆ Mob storms Pakistani police station, lynches man accused of blasphemy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A mob in eastern Pakistan stormed a police station on Saturday and lynched a man under custody and accused of blasphemy, police said, in the latest incident of religion-linked violence in the Islamic republic. However, the mob stormed the station, located in the city of Nankana Sahib, took Waris out of the premises, beat him to death and attempted to set his body on fire, Waqas added. Blasphemy is also a crime under Pakistani law, which can carry the death sentence. A number of police officials have been suspended because of their inability to stop the mob, a statement from the police said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry, the government said.

☆ Pakistan's former President Musharraf buried in Karachi
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Army vehicles escort ambulances, carrying the body of Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf during his funeral in Karachi, Pakistan February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroKARACHI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Pakistani former President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the campaign against al Qaeda following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, was buried in his hometown of Karachi on Tuesday. He was buried at the Army Graveyard in Karachi. This decision contradicted Pakistan's long-standing support for the Taliban, who still controlled Afghanistan until their ouster in late 2001, and made Musharraf a target for domestic militant groups. Prime Minister Sharif, the president and the army chief did not attend.

☆ Pakistan ex-President Pervez Musharraf dies in Dubai after years in exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/7] Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf salutes during the playing of Pakistan's national anthem at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi November 27, 2007. REUTERS/Mian KhursheedISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pakistani former President Pervez Musharraf died on Sunday following a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai, after years in self-imposed exile. Musharraf joined what Washington called its "war on terror" after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. This made Musharraf a target for militants in Pakistan as well as causing him to lose support among conservative elements in Pakistan. Allowed abroad for medical treatment even as he faced a treason case in Pakistan, Musharraf last flew to Dubai in 2016.

☆ Blackouts, currency dives and corruption: Pakistan's economy is on the brink of collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sajjad Qayyum | Afp | Getty ImagesPakistan's economy is on a cliff-edge. These are just the latest shocks amid months of crisis as endemic government corruption, depleted foreign reserves and crippling debt have sent Pakistan's economy spiraling. More than 30% of Pakistan's total foreign debt is owed to China, according to the IMF. An aerial view of the commercial district of Pakistan's port city of Karachi on January 27, 2023. Asif Hassan | Afp | Getty Images

☆ IMF giving Pakistan tough time over unlocking funds, PM says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"As you know, the IMF mission is in Pakistan, and that's giving us a tough time," he said. "You all know we are running short of resources," Sharif said, adding Pakistan at present was facing an economic crisis. The IMF mission is visiting Pakistan to discuss fiscal consolidation measures the institution needs from Pakistan to clear a 9th review of its Extended Fund Facility, aimed at helping countries facing balance-of-payments crises. Pakistan is in a $6.5 billion IMF programme. An IMF delegation is in Pakistan to restart talks stalled since November for $2.5 billion funds yet to be disbursed.

Faced with a shortage of US dollars, Pakistan only has enough foreign currency in its reserves to pay for three weeks of imports. Long lines are forming at gas stations as prices swing wildly in the country of 220 million. Pakistan’s currency, the rupee, recently dropped to new lows against the US dollar after authorities eased currency controls to meet one of the IMF’s lending conditions. The country has been spending more on trade than it has brought in, running down its stock of foreign currency and weighing on the rupee’s value. Pakistan's usually bustling ports, like this one in Karachi, have ground to a halt as the country grapples with a severe shortage of foreign currency.

"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.

☆ Pakistan mosque bombing death toll rises to 87
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jibran Ahmad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan Asim Munir and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visit an injured, after a suicide blast in a mosque, at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan January 30, 2023. Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERSPESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The death toll in the suicide bombing that tore through a mosque in Pakistan rose to 87 on Tuesday, a hospital official said, a day after the one of the biggest attacks in the unstable South Asian nation. The attack occurred in one of the most fortified areas of the northwestern Peshawar city, which houses offices of the police and counter-terrorism departments. Hospital official Mohammad Asim said that 87 people had been killed, and that 57 people were being treated, seven of whom were in critical condition. Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella of Sunni and sectarian Islamist groups, has denied responsibility.

The Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) said late on Tuesday it was lifting the cap on the currency in the interest of the country. Before the cap on the rupee was removed, markets eyed three different rates to assess its value -- the state bank's official rate, the one assessed by the foreign exchange companies and the black market rate. He said the removal of the cap would curb the black market. "The black market rate is still sticky in the range of 260-270. The decision of exchange companies has not had any impact as such," said Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities.

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —A nationwide power outage in Pakistan left nearly 220 million people without electricity on Monday, threatening to cause havoc in the South Asian nation already grappling with fuel shortages in the winter months. It is unclear how long the outage will last and efforts are underway to restore power to various parts of the country. The outage comes as the country’s fragile economy continues to struggle with multiple challenges, including a severe energy crisis. The decision to reduce energy usage came as Pakistan announced its foreign exchange reserves had dwindled to alarmingly low levels. Monday’s power outage is Pakistan’s most widespread power shutdown since 2021, when the nation plunged into darkness for hours after a “sudden plunge in the frequency in the power transmission system.”

☆ Pakistan PM Sharif offers talks with arch-rival India
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered his Indian counterpart talks over all outstanding issues, including disputed Kashmir, which he believes could be facilitated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He can play a very important role to bring the two countries on the talking table," Sharif said. The two arch-rival nuclear powers have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947. Tensions rose high when India unilaterally revoked the autonomous status of its part of Kashmir later in 2019, which Sharif said resulted in "flagrant" human rights violations. Sharif said the wars between the two countries brought nothing except misery, poverty and unemployment.

☆ Saudi Arabia weighs boosting Pakistan investment to $10 bln -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said it could increase its investments in the cash-strapped Pakistan economy to $10 billion, the Saudi state news agency reported on Tuesday, as well as increase the ceiling on deposits into the Pakistan central bank to $5 billion. He has also asked the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) to consider raising the ceiling for Saudi deposits into the Pakistan central bank as part of measures to support the struggling economy. Last month, the Saudis extended the terms of an existing $3 billion deposit in the central bank it made in 2021. read morePakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought to forge closer economic ties with Gulf states to secure bigger investments. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) aims to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, and in October, Sharif was invited to address delegates at Saudi's flagship investment conference, the Future Investment Initiative.

☆ Donors pledge more than $9 billion for Pakistan’s flood recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Officials from some 40 countries as well as private donors and international financial institutions gathered at a meeting in Geneva as Islamabad sought funds to cover around half of a recovery bill amounting to $16.3 billion. The meeting’s co-hosts, the United Nations and Pakistan’s government, said more than $9 billion had been pledged from bilateral and multilateral partners. Among the donors were the Islamic Development Bank ($4.2 billion), the World Bank ($2 billion), Saudi Arabia ($1 billion), as well as the European Union and China, Pakistan Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said. “Today has truly been a day which gives us great hope,” said Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s minister of state for foreign affairs. Millions of homes, tens of thousands of schools as well as thousands of kilometers of roads and railways still need to be rebuilt, the UN says.

☆ Pakistan Works to Revive IMF Bailout
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Saeed Shah | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pakistan says some 33 million people were affected by devastating flooding over the summer. ISLAMABAD—Pakistan held talks Monday with the International Monetary Fund in an effort to restart a stalled bailout program, as economists warn that the country is in danger of defaulting on its foreign debt. Foreign currency reserves have shrunk to critical levels, enough to cover only about three weeks’ worth of imports, according to financial analysts. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he had pleaded to the IMF to pause what he called harsh conditions to its loan.

☆ U.N. gathering seeks billions in aid for Pakistan after devastating floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“We need to be honest about the brutal injustice of loss and damage suffered by developing countries because of climate change,” Guterres told the gathering. “If there is any doubt about loss and damage — go to Pakistan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, left, speaks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a conference in Geneva on Monday. Many countries already doled out cash, supplies and other support for Pakistan in the immediate follow-up to the flooding. Climate scientists found that the floods in Pakistan were worsened by global heating although economic, societal and construction-oriented factors also played a role.

☆ Pakistan seeks $8 bln in three years for flood recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres attend a summit on climate resilience in Pakistan, months after deadly floods in the country, at the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseJan 9 (Reuters) - Pakistan needs $8 billion from its international partners over the next three years to rebuild the country that is reeling from last year's devastating floods, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in Geneva on Monday. The floods, blamed on climate change, dealt a severe blow to Pakistan's strained economy while displacing some 8 million people and killing at least 1,700. Rebuilding efforts are now estimated to cost more than $16 billion. Reporting by Gibran Peshimam and Asif Shahzad, writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Krishna N. DasOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UN chief calls for 'massive investments' for Pakistan recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

September's floods, which are still receding, killed at least 1,700 people and displaced around 8 million. "We must match the heroic response of the people of Pakistan with our own efforts and massive investments to strengthen their communities for the future," Guterres said in opening remarks. "Pakistan is doubly victimized by climate chaos and a morally bankrupt global financial system," he added, calling for creative ways for developing countries to access debt relief and financing. In a video message, France President Emmanuel Macron pledged $10 million in additional aid support. Reporting by Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

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