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☆ Pakistan's embattled Imran Khan faces blackout on local media
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) asked television licensees to ensure that "hate mongers, rioters, their facilitators and perpetrators" are "completely screened out from media". Khan has long been the most televised politician in Pakistan, with his speeches and gatherings getting wall-to-wall coverage and widespread viewership. The military has not responded to a request for comment on that allegation by Khan. Khan himself was arrested on charges of graft but released two days later after courts deemed the manner of his detention illegal. "We cannot be mentioned on television," said Khan, who now regularly speaks through his party's YouTube channel.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan, Dissanayake, Gibran Peshimam, Charlotte Greenfield, Alex Richardson Organizations: Reuters, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, YouTube, South, Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

☆ NZ sees bigger deficit as economy sputters, spending boost to fan inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand's finance minister, Grant Robertson, speaks about the "wellbeing" budget in Wellington, New Zealand, May 30, 2019. That has heaped pressure on New Zealand’s finances, as the government has had to navigate many challenges including three-decade high inflation, sharply rising borrowing costs, a stuttering economy and falling tax revenue. However, Treasury sees inflation slowing to 3.3% by mid-2024, from the current blistering 6.7% pace, levels not seen since the early 1990s. Much of the worsening in the accounts is due to falling tax revenue as the economy slows. S&P Global Ratings retained New Zealand’s AAA ratings, but warned of pressure ahead.

☆ New Zealand announces worse-than-expected deficit as economy stutters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand on Thursday announced a worse-than-forecast budget deficit as a lower tax take, higher inflation and a slowing economy hit its coffers, forcing the ruling Labour government to keep new spending at a minimum and raising its bond programme. FILE PHOTO: New Zealand's finance minister, Grant Robertson, speaks about the "wellbeing" budget in Wellington, New Zealand, May 30, 2019. The country is projected to record a NZ$6.96 billion deficit for the year to June 2023 versus previous expectations for a deficit of NZ$3.63 billion, and will not return to surplus until 2025-26, a year later than previously forecast. The government announced a NZ$6 billion infrastructure fund, which would help with rebuild costs and fund new more resilient infrastructure over the longer term. “There is not a lot of discretionary spending in this budget,” Robertson added.

☆ UN says Taliban envoy can meet Pakistan, China ministers next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council committee on Monday agreed to allow the Taliban administration's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to travel to Pakistan from Afghanistan next week to meet with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China, diplomats said. Muttaqi has long been subjected to a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo under Security Council sanctions. According to a letter to the 15-member Security Council Taliban sanctions committee, Pakistan's U.N. mission requested an exemption for Muttaqi was to travel between May 6-9 "for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China." The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. The Security Council committee allowed Muttaqi to travel to Uzbekistan last month for a meeting of the foreign ministers of neighboring countries of Afghanistan to discuss urgent peace, security, and stability matters.

☆ UN predicts Afghan economy would contract if aid drops 30%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's economy will contract, inflation will rise and liquidity will fall if there is a 30% drop in international aid as feared, according to an analysis by the United Nations' development agency released on Tuesday. International officials say aid to Afghanistan, the recipient of the world's largest humanitarian program, will drop sharply this year as donors assess global crises and because of restrictions on female aid workers imposed by the Taliban administration. The United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP) analysed the impact of a 30% drop in aid and found gross domestic product for the already struggling economy would shrink 0.4% this year. "We may find ourselves in a larger drop in aid than 30%," said Al Dardari. Taliban officials have said their decisions on female aid workers are an "internal issue" and that foreign governments should reduce restrictions and unfreeze central bank assets to alleviate the economic crisis.

☆ Taliban ban on Afghan women working for U.N. an 'internal' issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A group of women wearing burqas crosses the street as members of the Taliban drive past in Kabul, Afghanistan October 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File PhotoKABUL, April 12 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban administration has said forbidding Afghan women from working for the United Nations was an "internal issue," after the global organisation expressed alarm at the decision and said it would review its operations there. On Tuesday, the U.N. Mission to Afghanistan said the Taliban administration would be responsible for any negative humanitarian impacts stemming from the ban. Taliban authorities in December said most Afghan female NGO workers would not be allowed to work. The U.N. humanitarian agency has said a huge funding plan for Afghanistan for 2023 is less than 5% funded.

☆ Taliban aim to boost Afghan security forces, anti-aircraft capacity -army chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In his remarks on Tuesday, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, a Taliban commander from the northern region of Badakhshan and the chief of army staff, condemned incursions by foreign drones into Afghan airspace. Fitrat said a major defence focus was securing Afghan airspace against drones and other incursions. He also stopped short of naming Pakistan, against which the Taliban administration has regularly protested, accusing its neighbour of allowing drones to enter Afghanistan. Ties between the neighbours have occasionally been tense as as Pakistan has accused the Taliban administration of allowing Afghan territory to be used as a haven for militant groups. The Taliban administration denies allowing its territory to be used for attacks on others, however.

UNITED NATIONS/KABUL, April 5 (Reuters) - U.N. chief Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a ban by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities on Afghan women working for the United Nations, calling it "an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights" that should be immediately revoked. The United Nations has told some 3,300 Afghan staff - of which about 400 are female - not to report to their offices until further notice for security reasons. "Banning Afghan women from working with the U.N. in Afghanistan is an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights," Guterres posted on Twitter. Top U.N. officials in Kabul met with the Acting Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday after the Taliban authorities signaled on Tuesday that they would enforce a ban on Afghan women working for the world body. So far it is only 5% funded and the United Nations says nearly three-quarters of the country's 40 million people need help.

I'll never get over his death as long as I live," his father, Umer Zada, told Reuters. Zada said the distribution of aid should have been better organised, with police supervision of the hungry and desperate seeking help. "There has been a 50% reduction in donations this year, while there has been a 50% increase in people seeking help." The group's ambulances took away the injured and the bodies of Saad and the others killed in the Karachi crush. Like everyone, Zada is struggling with inflation but he also has to contend with grief and questions that torment him.

☆ UN tells Afghan staff not to work for 48 hours - UN sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

UNITED NATIONS/KABUL, April 4 (Reuters) - The United Nations has told all Afghan staff not to report to work in Afghanistan for 48 hours for security reasons while it seeks additional information from the Taliban authorities about a ban on Afghan women working for the world body, U.N. sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Reporting by Michelle Nichols at UN and Charlotte Greenfield in Kabul; Editing byDoina Chiacu;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would view any ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in their country as "unacceptable and, frankly, inconceivable", he said. The restrictions did not initially apply to the United Nations and some other international organisations. In January, the U.N Deputy Secretary-General flagged concerns that authorities could next restrict Afghan women working at international organisations. It was not immediately clear whether foreign embassies in Kabul had received similar instructions on female staff. Article 8 of its governing charter requires the U.N. not to place any restrictions on men and women working for U.N. agencies.

After nearly two decades of Western-led intervention and engagement with the world, 18% of the population had internet access, according to the World Bank. "For girls in Afghanistan, we have a bad, awful internet problem," Sofia said. "It's too hard to access internet in Afghanistan and sometimes we have half an hour of power in 24 hours." Seattle-based Ookla, which compiles global internet speeds, put Afghanistan's mobile internet as the slowest of 137 countries and its fixed internet as the second slowest of 180 countries. She was working with international companies to find solutions to poor internet access but said she could not elaborate.

☆ Earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hits northern Afghanistan, killing at least 3
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, March 21 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, killing two in the east of the country and one child in neighbouring Pakistan. The tremor was very deep, 194 km (120.5 miles), and its epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan. A spokesperson for Red Cross said they had no immediate reports of damages from Badakhshan's capital but were making checks on other areas. "We felt a strong earthquake, according to primary information the main place (affected) was Yamgan District," he said. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed over 1,000 people last year.

☆ Pakistan police enter Lahore property of ex-PM Imran Khan - party officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gather, as they guard the entrance of Khan's house, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/ File PhotoLAHORE, March 18 (Reuters) - Pakistani police on Saturday entered the property in Lahore of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials from his political party said, as he was arriving in the capital Islamabad for a court appearance. The move followed days of standoff and intense clashes between police and his supporters around the property, where police had attempted to arrest Khan on Tuesday. Khan said in a Tweet that his wife was at the property. (This story has been corrected to say police entered Imran Khan’s Lahore property as he was arriving in Islamabad for a court appearance in paragraph 1)Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blast at Afghanistan journalist event kills at least one, injures eight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, March 11 (Reuters) - A blast hit a cultural centre during an event for journalists in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding eight, according to authorities and journalists, a few days after the province's governor died in an explosion claimed by Islamic State. Takor added that five journalists and three children were among the injured and a security guard was killed. Sajad Mosawi, a journalist in Balkh who was injured in the blast, said it had torn through the centre during an event to celebrate journalists. Taliban authorities were already investigating the explosion that killed provincial governor Mawlawi Mohammad Dawood Muzamil and two others at his office on Thursday. Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by William Mallard and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swiss-based trust holds second meeting to discuss plans for Afghan funds -trustee
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The frozen central bank reserves were transferred from Washington into the "Fund for the Afghan People" last year where U.S. officials say it will be shielded from the Taliban. Trustee Shah Mehrabi, a U.S. academic who also remains on the Afghan central bank's Supreme Council, said a meeting of the four trustees was held virtually on Feb. 16. "The issue of disbursements of funds and the options for that was discussed," Mehrabi told Reuters. "The idea clearly here is the necessary steps to disburse funds and potential options for achieving monetary stability." Mehrabi said he believed the funds should only be used for achieving monetary stability and reducing volatility in Afghanistan's exchange rate.

☆ Thousands of trucks stuck at Afghan-Pakistan border crossing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jibran Ahmad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Men sit near a queue of trucks loaded with supplies to leave for Afghanistan, after Taliban authorities have closed the main border crossing in Torkham, Pakistan February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Shahid ShinwariPESHAWAR, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained closed for a third day, with thousands of goods vehicles stuck and businesses facing losses as officials from both sides try to broker a solution. "The closure of the border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been causing losses to traders of the two countries. He added some trucks had been diverted to another, smaller border crossing, but traders were worried about the security of truck drivers travelling to that region. Residents had reported heavy gunfire on Monday morning near the Torkham border crossing, but the Taliban official had denied any clashes and said the situation was under control.

☆ Main Afghan-Pakistani border crossing closed, residents report gunfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL/PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The main border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan was closed on Monday, officials from the two sides said, and residents in the area reported the sound of gunfire near the normally bustling border transit point. It was not immediately clear if Afghan or Pakistani authorities closed the Torkham border crossing, near the Khyber Pass, but it comes after relations between Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply. Media reported that the border was closed on Sunday evening but did not give a reason. Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani security forces have also at times closed the second most important crossing between the two countries, at Chaman to the south. A Taliban foreign ministry spokesperson said later Pakistan should raise issues in private and not at public forums.

☆ Taliban plans to turn former foreign bases into special economic zones
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohammad IsmailKABUL, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Taliban administration will move ahead with plans to turn former foreign military bases into special economic zones for businesses, the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs said in a statement on Sunday. "Following a thorough discussion, it was decided that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should progressively take control of the remaining military bases of the foreign forces with the intention of converting them into special economic zones," Mullah Baradar said in the statement. He added a pilot plan would begin to convert bases in the capital Kabul and in northern Balkh province. Afghanistan's economy has struggled and aid agencies are warning of a severe humanitarian crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021 as foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of war. The Taliban have said they are focused on boosting economic self-sufficiency through trade and investment.

☆ Former bodyguard arrested over shooting of Afghan female ex-MP
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Afghan police have arrested the former bodyguard of a female member of parliament who was shot to death at her home in Kabul last month, the Taliban administration said on Friday. Gunmen killed Mursal Nabizada, a female lawmaker during the previous foreign-backed government, and her bodyguard in an attack on her home in mid-January. Police said they had arrested a former guard, who had confessed to the crime, but the motive was not clear. "Further investigations are underway to determine the factors and other aspects of the crime," Kabul police, who are run by the Taliban administration, said in a statement. Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

He added that a government committee was looking into adding secular subjects to madrasas alongside religious study, a development that hasn't been previously reported. Other students and teachers said Islamic education played an important role in their lives, though they hoped to be able to study secular subjects too. He didn't elaborate on the government's plans for religious schools. Reuters was unable to determine the current number of madrasas, and Taliban authorities have not provided figures. "There's deep-seated mistrust of the formal education sector, despite the fact that it too incorporates Islamic education."

☆ Pakistan, IMF agree on more talks, delaying bailout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Ariba Shahid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to continue talks on a deal, delaying the disbursement of $1.1 billion in funding critical to keeping the South Asian economy afloat. "Virtual discussions will continue in the coming days," IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter said in a statement, adding that considerable progress had been made. To release the funds, the IMF needs to reach a staff-level agreement with Pakistan, which then needs to be approved by the IMF's head office in Washington. The money is necessary to prevent Pakistan from defaulting on external payment obligations, and an IMF deal paves the way for other organisations and governments to provide funds, analysts say. In addition to the stalled tranche, $1.4 billion remain of the $6.5 billion bailout programme, which is due to end in June.

☆ Pakistani PM approves IMF deal, Geo reports, without giving details
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Ariba Shahid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Faisal MahmoodKARACHI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and all matters related to the bailout programme are settled, broadcaster Geo said on Thursday, citing sources. To release the funds, the IMF needed to reach a staff level agreement with Pakistan. Analysts say the money is necessary to prevent Pakistan from defaulting on external payment obligations, and an IMF deal also paves the way for other organisations and governments to provide funds. The IMF mission arrived in Pakistan late last week for talks aimed at releasing an overdue tranche of $1.1 billion from the bailout programme, leaving $1.4 billion remaining. The fiscal adjustments demanded by any deal, however, are likely to fuel record high inflation, which hit 27.5% year-on-year in January, analysts say.

☆ Factbox: Facts about Pakistan's late former President Pervez Musharraf
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Here are some facts about the life and career of Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf, who died on Sunday:*Born in Delhi, India, on August 11, 1943, in his family's ancestral home, Nehar Wali Haveli. *Musharraf joined Pakistan's Military Academy in 1961. He was chosen by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the brother of Pakistan's current prime minister, as the army chief in 1998. *In 2002, Musharraf was appointed president, a title he held in addition to army chief, after winning more than 90% of the vote in a controversial national referendum. *In 2007, Musharraf stepped down from his post as army chief, but said he would remain president for another five-year term.

☆ Reactions to Pakistan ex-President Musharraf's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

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. SHASHI THAROOR, INDIAN POLITICIAN, SAID ON TWITTER"Once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the UN & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP"MOSHARRAF ZAIDI, CEO OF TABADLAD, AN ISLAMABAD-BASED THINK TANK"The most important legacy Gen. Musharraf leaves behind predates his time as president. The 1999 Kargil War permanently altered ...

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