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ISLAMABAD, May 9 (Reuters) - Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday by an anti-graft agency on corruption charges. While prime minister, Khan promoted the trust at official events. Khan has publicly described her as his spiritual leader and said she helped guide him towards a spiritual path. The anti-graft agency that arrested Khan had summoned Hussain late last year to submit answers on the land donated to the trust. The interior minister alleged Hussain gave the land in Jhelum and Islamabad to Al-Qadir Trust in exchange for that favour.

☆ Factbox: What is the corruption case against Pakistan's Khan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (Reuters) - Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday on corruption charges. Al-Qadir Trust is a non-governmental welfare organization set up by Bushra Watto, Khan's third wife, and Khan in 2018 when he was still in office. While prime minister, Khan promoted the trust at official events. Khan has publicly described her as his spiritual leader and said she helped guide him towards a spiritual path. The interior minister alleged Hussain gave the land to Khan through the Al-Qadir Trust in exchange for that favour.

☆ Dubai's stunning skyline shown in surreal, dramatic images
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Nadia Leigh-Hewitson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Now, artist Baber Afzal is capturing the city-state’s famous towers and spires in a new light through a series of stunning images that marry architecture, environment, and atmosphere. Afzal, 40, uses a combination of landscape and architectural photography, and visual art techniques, to illustrate the city of Dubai as he sees it. “Awareness of the climatic conditions gave birth to a unique editing style and technique to express my visions.”A Pakistani native, Afzal first started making art in 2007. “I gravitated toward the editing aspect since shifting color and contrast values really fascinated me.”Photographer and visual artist Baber Afzal captures Dubai in a unique light in his ethereal images. He believes that technology will play a significant role in the future of the art scene in Dubai.

ISLAMABAD, April 28 (Reuters) - Inflation-hit Pakistan on Friday approved a rise of up to 20% in retail prices of general medicines and 14% for essential ones, prompting immediate criticism from drug manufacturers who said the increases were too small. The government decision followed a months-long stand-off with importers and manufacturers, whose associations have been demanding an across-the-board 39% rise, warning that the industry could otherwise collapse. But the government had pushed back against the demands for higher medicine prices, fearing such a move would lose it support months before national general elections. The finance ministry said medicine prices could be reviewed again after three months if the Pakistani rupee appreciated, adding that "no increase under this category" would be granted in the next financial year. The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (PPMA) criticised the increase, which it said was way lower than it had expected.

☆ Inside Qatar’s ‘city of the future’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Like others, it has moved from the capital Doha to this, Qatar’s newest city – 10 miles north. Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty ImagesLusail claims to be Qatar’s first sustainable city – no easy task for a newbuild in the desert. There’s an extensive choice from food trucks at the Lusail Marina Food Arena, abundant cafes, and fine dining restaurants.”A sprawling city of the futureThe Marina area is fast proving a hit for residents. Al Tara – the district, by Al Maha Island, where Warner lives – is home to the Lusail Marina. There is a rumor – as yet unsubstantiated – that Lusail might eventually become Qatar’s capital city.

☆ Elephant in Pakistan zoo dies, reviving concern over animal treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, April 22 (Reuters) - Noor Jehan, an elephant in Pakistan's Karachi Zoo whose illness revived criticisms of the nation's zoos, died on Saturday despite frantic efforts to treat her, officials said. The critically ill 17-year-old elephant had fallen into a pond this month and been unable to get up without help. The director of the Karachi Zoo was removed this month over complaints of negligence. A court in 2020 ordered the closure of the Islamabad Zoo, where the elephant Kaavan was kept. Khalil said Karachi Zoo did not meet international standards and urged that Madhubala, the healthy elephant remaining at the zoo, be relocated to a more species-appropriate place to give her a chance at a better life.

☆ Exclusive: Pakistan places first order for discounted Russian crude
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, April 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a new deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow, the country's petroleum minister said, with one cargo to dock at Karachi port in May. The deal will see Pakistan buy crude oil only, not refined fuels, and imports are expected to reach 100,000 barrels per day if the first transaction goes through smoothly, Minister Musadik Malik told Reuters on Wednesday night. "Yes it is true that we will be getting only crude, not refined oil," Malik said in response to confirm sources information whether that's correct. He said Pakistan's Refinery Limited (PRL) will initially refine the Russian crude, with other refineries to be included later after a trial run. Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov led a delegation to Islamabad in January to hold talks on the deal, after which he said oil exports to Pakistan could begin after March.

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Pakistan’s Foreign Minister will travel to India next month, the most senior-level visit in seven years in what is a major diplomatic breakthrough between two nuclear-armed neighbors with a long history of fractious relations. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) foreign ministers meeting on May 4-5 in the western Indian coastal state of Goa, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed Thursday. This is the first time that the most senior Pakistani foreign office representative has visited India since 2016. Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have been beset by decades of distrust and occasional bouts of open conflict. The SCO and China’s growing hand in diplomacyThe SCO is an eight-member regional security and economic grouping led by China, and its members include India, Pakistan and Russia.

☆ An economic crisis in Pakistan means many are going hungry during Ramadan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Javed IqbalIn Karachi, Pakistan’s financial center, 13 women and children died in March when hundreds of people caused a stampede in the rush for free food. Nine were killed in late March at separate government run flour distribution sites in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has expressed concern at what it called “mismanagement” that caused stampedes at wheat flour distribution centers set up by the government. Khan said a shortage of basic imports such as animal feed and other raw materials essential for food production contributed further to the food crisis and widespread hunger. Ramadan is a period of thanksgiving and shared meals, but the festivities have been overshadowed by the economic crisis.

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.

[1/2] African elephant Noor Jahan, 17, who is unwell, rests on a sand pile, at a zoo in Karachi, Pakistan April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYKARACHI, Pakistan, April 14 (Reuters) - Noor Jehan, an elephant in Pakistan's Karachi Zoo, is critically ill after the 17-year-old fell in a pond on Thursday in a small enclosure. Right after the fall Four Paws, a global animal welfare organization, recommended lifting Noor Jehan with a crane, ropes and belts. The veterinarian from Egypt had then given Noor Jehan a strong chance of survival. Khalid Hashmi was removed as director of Karachi Zoo on April 8 over complaints of negligence.

☆ Pakistan condemns India's decision to hold G20 meetings in Kashmir
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Danish Ismail/File PhotoISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Tuesday condemned India's decision to hold Group of 20 meetings in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir next month, calling the move "irresponsible". India currently holds the rotating year-long presidency of the G20 and is set to host a leaders' summit in New Delhi in early September. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment on the statement from Pakistan. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of stoking a decades-long separatist insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in India. Pakistan also accuses India of human rights violations in the parts of Kashmir under its control, a charge New Delhi rejects.

☆ Pakistan's finance minister opposes snap polls mandated by top court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, April 10 (Reuters) - Provincial snap elections are not in Pakistan's national interest given its economic turmoil and security situation, the country's finance minister said on Monday, in defiance of an order by the country's supreme court. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday put forward a financial bill to seek a vote on whether to approve the election funding. "The country's economic, security and internal conditions demand that snap polls aren't in the national interest," he said in a televised speech to parliament. He suggested holding the elections together in all provinces and national seats, saying that would reduce logistics and security expenses. ($1 = 286.2500 Pakistani rupees)Reporting by Asif Shahzad; editing by John Stonestreet and Barbara LewisOur 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.

☆ Pakistan minister cancels trip to IMF, World Bank meetings in US - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is seen after a party meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal MahmoodISLAMABAD, April 7 (Reuters) - Pakistan's finance minister has cancelled a visit to Washington for spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, government officials said on Friday, citing domestic political turmoil as the reason. Minister Ishaq Dar was scheduled to attend the meetings from April 10 and see top IMF officials and multilateral creditors in a bid to secure stalled funding that the South Asian country desperately needs to avert a balance-of-payments crisis. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Khan's demand, saying a general election is due anyway late this year. The officials said the finance secretary, the top civil servant in the ministry, and the central bank governor would likely lead Pakistan's delegation to Washington.

☆ Saudi provides $240 mln for Pakistan hydro-power dam
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, April 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will provide a $240 million loan to co-finance Pakistan's multi-purpose Mohmand dam project, a major hydro-power complex being built in northwest of the country, statements from both sides said on Friday. The project will "contribute to Pakistan's energy security, increase sustainable water supply for agriculture and human consumption and improve resilience to floods," Pakistan's economic affairs ministry said in a statement. Saudi state news agency issued the same statement in Arabic. "The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has signed a $240 million loan agreement," the statements said. Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Additional reporting by Claudia Tanios in Dubai; Editing by Jason Neely and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pakistan parliament rejects top court order to conduct provincial snap polls - speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, April 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan's parliament on Thursday rejected a Supreme Court order to conduct provincial snap polls, in the latest move in a power struggle between the government and the top court amid political and economic instability. The top court had on Tuesday ruled illegal the government's move to delay the snap polls in two provinces where former prime minister Imran Khan had dissolved his local governments earlier this year. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government has been saying the country's poor economic condition didn't allow spending on the snap polls and then on a general elections due later this year. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies had dissolved the provincial governments, hoping that it would force Sharif's government to hold snap polls across the country, his longstanding demand since he was ousted a year ago. ($1 = 286.2500 Pakistani rupees)Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Saudi Arabia commits financial support to help Pakistan secure IMF deal - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, April 6 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has told the International Monetary Fund it will provide financing to Pakistan, Pakistani junior finance minister Aisha Ghaus Pasha said on Thursday, a critical step needed to secure IMF funding. Saudi Arabia's $2 billion pledged in external financing support to Pakistan is one of the final conditions for an IMF deal that Islamabad needs to avert a default. "Apparently Saudi Arabia has committed to IMF, and IMF has indicated to us that there has been a correspondence from them," Pasha told reporters in Islamabad. ,The IMF has asked Pakistan to secure assurances on external financing from friendly countries and multilateral partners to fund its balance of payment gap for this fiscal year, which ends in June. Pasha said Islamabad was also in talks with UAE to secure an assurance for a foreign reserves deposits in central bank.

KARACHI, Pakistan, April 4 (Reuters) - Pakistan's central bank raised its key interest rate by 100 basis points to a record 21% on Tuesday, as the cash-strapped country stepped up its fight against soaring consumer prices. Investors polled by Reuters had expected an even-bigger rate hike of 200 basis point from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which is facing on consumer price inflation that hit a record annual level of just over 35% in March. Worldwide growth in consumer prices has compounded high inflation in Pakistan caused by a weakening currency, energy tariff increases and elevated food prices due to Ramadan. The SBP has hiked the key rate by cumulatively by 1025 bps since January 2022. In early March, the bank raised its key rate by 300 basis points to 20%, exceeding market expectations, likely to meet a key requirement of the IMF for release of bailout funds.

☆ Pakistan court orders provincial votes in win for ex-PM Khan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. But the Supreme Court ruled that the delay was illegal and voting in the two provinces should be held between April 30 and May 15. It said the provincial assembly election in Punjab, Pakistan's most prosperous and politically important province should be on May 14. The court also ordered the government to release 21 billion rupees ($73.17 million) to the election commission to organise the two provincial elections. Parliament last week introduced a draft law to clip the powers of the Supreme Court.

☆ Pakistan posts highest-ever annual inflation; stampedes for food kill 16
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroISLAMABAD, April 1 (Reuters) - Consumer price inflation in Pakistan jumped to a record 35.37% in March from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said on Saturday, as at least 16 people were killed in stampedes for food aid. The March inflation number eclipsed February's 31.5%, the bureau said, as food, beverage and transport prices surged up to 50% year-on-year. A spokesman at the statistics bureau said the inflation number was the highest ever year-on-year increase recorded by the bureau since monthly records began in the 1970s. Annual food inflation in March was at 47.1% and 50.2% for urban and rural areas respectively, the bureau said. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, stood at 18.6% in urban areas and 23.1% in rural areas.

☆ China rolls over $2 bln loan to Pakistan - finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, March 31 (Reuters) - Pakistan's finance minister, Ishaq Dar, said on Friday that China had rolled over a $2 billion loan that matured last week, providing relief during the South Asian nation's acute balance of payment crisis. "I am happy to confirm that this had been rolled over on March 23," Dar told parliament, referring to the maturity date. Dar's comments were the first official announcement of the rollover after the loan matured. A top finance ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday that a formal confirmation of the refinancing would be made after the process was completed. Longtime ally Beijing is the only help Islamabad has got so far, with refinancing of $1.8 billion credited last month to Pakistan's central bank.

☆ Pakistan PM urges parliament to act against ex-premier Khan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attends a summit on climate resilience in Pakistan, months after deadly floods in the country, at the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 9, 2023. The clashes occurred earlier this month after Khan's supporters prevented police and paramilitary forces from detaining him over allegations he unlawfully sold state gifts during his 2018-22 tenure as premier. Last week Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah asked for a parliamentary ruling to empower authorities to crack down on Khan's party and his supporters. Sharif did not spell out what action he wanted the parliament to take against Khan. Some of Sharif's ministers have called for a ban on Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, but it was not clear whether the government was seeking this from parliament.

☆ Pakistan's new fuel pricing scheme needs to be agreed before IMF deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Fayaz AzizISLAMABAD, March 24 (Reuters) - A long-awaited loan agreement between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be signed once a few remaining points, including a proposed fuel pricing scheme, are settled, an IMF official confirmed on Friday. Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik told Reuters on Thursday that his ministry had been given six weeks to work out the pricing plan. But the IMF's resident representative in Pakistan, Esther Perez Ruiz, said the government had not consulted the fund about the fuel pricing scheme. Ruiz, in a message to Reuters, confirmed a media report that a staff level agreement would be signed once a few remaining points, including the fuel scheme were settled. With enough foreign reserves to only cover about four weeks of necessary imports, Pakistan is desperate for the IMF agreement to disperse a $1.1 billion tranche from a $6.5 billion bailout agreed in 2019.

☆ Earthquake in Afghanistan kills at least 11, nine of them in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed and 44 injured in northwest Pakistan by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck in neighbouring Afghanistan late on Tuesday, a Pakistani government official said. At least two people were killed in Afghanistan, a disaster agency official there said. The quake was felt over an area more than 1,000 km wide by some 285 million people in Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people last year. In 2005, at least 73,000 people were killed by a 7.6 magnitude quake that struck northern Pakistan.

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