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☆ Pakistan’s political crisis will deepen its economic misery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —The political unrest that’s engulfed Pakistan since former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested earlier this week will complicate efforts to secure a financial lifeline from the International Monetary Fund and exacerbate the country’s economic crisis. Pakistan’s economic meltdownThe political tumult in Pakistan comes as the country grapples with a dire economic outlook. The government has been working with the International Monetary Fund to resume a financing program that’s been stalled since November and expires in June. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a televised address Friday that the country’s economic problems stem from his predecessor. In February, the ratings agency said about 50% of government revenue will need to go to debt interest payments “for the next few years,” compounding economic woes and fanning political discontent.

☆ Supporters of Pakistan ex-PM Khan plan march to capital to protest arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday by Pakistan's anti-corruption agency. Police said a court hearing would take place at the police guest house where he is being held. Supporters in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were asked to gather early on Wednesday in Swabi city to leave for Islamabad as part of a convoy, the party wrote on Twitter. Party leaders asked workers to continue protests but not take the "law in their hands", according to messages shared on Twitter by on Wednesday. Reporting by Gibran Peshimam and Shivam Patel; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Violent clashes between supporters of Imran Khan and police broke out across the country after Pakistan's anti-corruption agency arrested the former prime minister on Tuesday. Pakistan's rupee has lost nearly 50% over the past 12 months. JPMorgan analyst Milo Gunasinghe said little relief from political uncertainty was in sight while the IMF programme remained stalled. "It is usually up to the country to present a credible plan of policies and financing that, in the face of political uncertainty, will credibly address the members’ balance of payment problems." The armed forces remain Pakistan's most powerful institution, having ruled directly for close to half the country's 75-year history through three coups.

☆ 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.

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.

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 9 (Reuters) - Petroleum dealers have flagged a surge in the smuggling of Iranian fuel to Pakistan, saying that up to 35% of diesel sold in the South Asian country has arrived illegally from Iran, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) told Reuters on Tuesday. “Private dealers have been able to make decent profits by selling Iranian diesel rupees 35 ($0.1235)/litre cheaper than local dealers,” it added. The PPDA said that Iranian fuel smuggled into Pakistan was further hurting the industry, already reeling from low sales. “In the past smuggled fuel was restricted to just Balochistan, but it has now spread all over,” Khan said. Due to Iranian fuel being significantly cheaper than domestic fuel, refineries are having trouble with stock uptake.

☆ Henry hopes NZ can avoid whitewash v World No. 1 Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 6 (Reuters) - Bowler Matt Henry is hopeful New Zealand can avoid a series whitewash in Pakistan by producing an improved display in Sunday's fifth and final one-day international against the world number one side. The team under Tom Latham managed to draw the preceding T20 series 2-2 but Pakistan have taken an unassailable 4-0 lead in the one-day series. "It's a shame we really haven't had the success that we wanted to ... " Henry told reporters after the loss. Henry had no hesitations admitting Pakistan had outplayed his team in home conditions. "Obviously it's frustrating to be four-nil but sometimes you've got to give kudos to the way that Pakistan have been playing their cricket.

An IMF review of the budget presents a fresh hurdle before the lender approves the release of pending bailout funds, which are crucial for Pakistan to resolve an acute balance of payments crisis. Pakistan has struggled to strike a deal with the IMF to release funds critical to stabilise the struggling economy. On Thursday, Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar reiterated that Pakistan has already taken all the agreed steps to unlock the funding. The $1.1 billion tranche is a part of a $6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which is due to end in June, prior to the budget. The government has removed caps on the exchange rate, imposed taxes, raised energy tariffs, and scaled back subsidies in an attempt to unlock the IMF funding.

☆ A Pakistani Artist Reimagines Her Relationship With Shame and Bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Aamina Inayat Khan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Misha Japanwala looked around her studio in the week leading up to her gallery show and wondered whether there were “too many nipples.”She was talking, of course, about the nipples she plaster cast from the bodies of 70 anonymized Pakistani people. They are part of Ms. Japanwala’s new collection, “Beghairati Ki Nishaani: Traces of Shamelessness,” showing at Hannah Traore Gallery in Manhattan from May 4 through July 30. Ms. Japanwala, a visual artist, who lives in Jersey City, N.J., spent several months last year in Karachi, Pakistan, where she grew up, making body castings of local women and L.G.B.T.Q. Her work aims to be a historical record of a population governed by the laws of shame. Attending an Aurat (Women’s) March, a rally for women’s rights, has led to threats of murder and rape.

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan consumer prices, driven by food, rose a record 36.4% in the year to April, the highest inflation rate in South Asia and up from March's 35.4%, the statistics bureau said on Tuesday. Pakistan's rural areas recorded food inflation of 40.2%, the bureau told Reuters. Food inflation for both rural and urban areas reached 48.1%, the highest since FY16 when the bureau started recording the categories separately. "The higher reading was expected over the hyperinflation in the food segment," said Amreen Soorani, head of research at JS Capital, a Karachi based investment company. Persistently high inflation has resulted in major lifestyle and consumption changes, with a greater number of people seeking help.

☆ Rizwan unhappy with number five slot in Pakistan order
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan said he is not happy with being pushed down the order to number five for the first two One-Day Internationals against New Zealand and the wicketkeeper-batsman wants to move back up a slot. While Rizwan has excelled in the finisher's role at five, helping his team win both games, he said he did not want to stay there. "If you ask me honestly, I am not happy batting at number five (in ODIs), because I want to bat at number four," he told a news conference on Monday. Rawalpindi hosted the first two ODIs but the series now switches to Karachi for the remaining three. The tourists also trailed the preceding Twenty20 series 2-0 before fighting back for a 2-2 draw and Rizwan said Pakistan must not get complacent.

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.

☆ Yasmeen Lari, ‘starchitect’ turned social engineer, wins one of architecture’s most coveted prizes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Nicole Mowbray | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Yasmeen Lari, widely recognised as Pakistan’s first female architect, has become the first woman since Zaha Hadid to win the prestigious Royal Gold Medal, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Lari created the Zero Carbon Cultural Centre in 2011. The Pakistan State Oil Head Office in Karachi (shown here in 1984) was designed by Lari. RIBA President Simon Allford said, “Lari’s mission during her ‘second’ career has empowered the people of Pakistan through architecture, engaging users in design and production. “It’s about seeing how you can help build communities.”Top image: Yasmeen Lari at the Zero Carbon Women Center on Bamboo Stilts in Pakistan, 2011.

☆ 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.

A 17-year-old critically ill elephant called Noor Jehan has died at Pakistan’s Karachi Zoo, with the animal welfare charity that had been treating her calling for the zoo’s closure. Noor Jehan represents so many more wild animals that suffer in captivity, in Pakistan and worldwide,” the group said. “We welcome that the Federal and Sindh government are considering shutting down Karachi Zoo permanently. Reuters reported that the director of Karachi Zoo Khalid Hashmi was removed from is role on April 8 over complaints of negligence. Noor Jehan was brought to Pakistan from Tanzania more than a decade ago, Reuters said.

☆ 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.

[1/5] People look at handbags on display outside shops in a market, ahead of Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Karachi, Pakistan April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroKARACHI, Pakistan, April 20 (Reuters) - Retail sales in Pakistan have witnessed a sharp drop compared to previous years in the run up to the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, retailers say, as shoppers feel the pinch of decades-high inflation. The lead up to Eid al-Fitr, expected to fall on Saturday in Pakistan to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan, traditionally sees the highest sales of the year. Asfandyar Farrukh, co-founder of CAP and managing director of Hub, a leather goods store, said that Eid shopping appears to have started sooner and peaked earlier, coinciding with salary pay days, and customers anticipating price increases. The sales drop adds to the slowing of Pakistan's $350 billion economy, which has struggled in recent months amidst tough stabilisation polices, including the central bank raising interest rates to a historic high of 21%.

☆ 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.

☆ In Pakistan, Economic Crisis Mutes Ramadan Celebrations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Zia Ur-Rehman | Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They swell through the day as hundreds of men and women swathed in bright purple and pink scarves wait outside the charity’s gates in Karachi, Pakistan. Many sit for hours, desperate to collect enough flour, rice, sugar and cooking oil to break their daily fast for the holy month of Ramadan. “It is the most expensive and unaffordable Ramadan of my life.”Across Pakistan, the season of Ramadan — a time of daily fasting and nightly feasts with family — is in full swing. But this year, an economic crisis that has sent the price of goods soaring to record highs has muted celebrations for millions of families struggling to buy the dates, rice and meat needed to break their daily fast. The South Asian nation — home to more than 230 million — is facing one of the most daunting economic challenges of its history.

[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.

KARACHI, Pakistan, April 13 (Reuters) - Pakistan's debt continues to be sustainable, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday, after the government reiterated it had completed all requirements to receive a critical bailout from the IMF. Pakistan's finance ministry on Thursday said IMF deputy managing director Antoinette Moniso Sayeh was confident of signing the staff level agreement very soon. Pakistan's government reiterated on Thursday it has completed all requirements to receive the critical bailout money from the fund following a meeting with Sayeh. "The finance minister also shared that all the international obligations have been addressed in time," the finance ministry said in a news release. On Wednesday, Pakistan's finance ministry release a statement following talks with the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Director Jihad Azour.

☆ US will 'turn over every rock' to find source of leak, says Pentagon chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday said the United States will investigate the recent purported leak of classified documents until the source of them was found. "We will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it," Austin said during a press conference at the State Department. "These are things that we will find out as we continue to investigate," Austin added. Investigators are working to determine what person or group might have had the ability and motivation to release the intelligence reports. The leaks could be the most damaging release of U.S. government information since the 2013 publication of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks.

☆ Analysis: Debt crunch looms for weaker economies with a wall of bond maturities ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"A more prolonged period without market access would be of more concern for the lower-rated tiers of the emerging markets sovereign universe," said James Wilson, EM sovereign strategist for ING. Tapping international debt markets hasn't been a problem across the board for emerging economies. The JPMorgan's emerging markets bond index (EMBI) for high yield debt is at 900 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, and has largely remained over 800 bps since the beginning of last year. The Russia conflict and then the Fed hiking cycle led to higher spreads for a much longer period," said Gregory Smith, emerging markets fund manager at London-based M&G Investment. A weaker U.S. dollar should help countries to tap international markets in the medium term, but recent data fueled jitters that restrictive central bank policies could push the global economy into recession.

☆ US searches for source of highly-classified intel leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The focus now is on this being a U.S. leak, as many of the documents were only in U.S. hands," Michael Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official, told Reuters in an interview. Following disclosure of the leak, Reuters has reviewed more than 50 documents labeled "Secret" and "Top Secret" that first appeared last month on social media websites, beginning with Discord and 4Chan. One of the documents, dated Feb. 23 and marked "Secret," outlines in detail how Ukraine's S-300 air defense systems would be depleted by May 2 at the current usage rate. Such closely-guarded information could be of great use to Russian forces, and Ukraine said its president and top security officials met on Friday to discuss ways to prevent leaks. The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it was in touch with the Defense Department and began a probe into the leak.

☆ Pakistan fin min: canceled trip to Washington on prime minister's orders
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, April 8 (Reuters) - Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said he had canceled his trip to Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on the orders of the prime minister due to the political situation in the country. Dar said he would attend important attend bilateral and multilateral meetings virtually and a Pakistani delegation would be present in Washington. The minister played down reports of the canceled trip being linked to a holdup in Pakistan's IMF bailout programme. Reporting by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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