Tuesday, 30 August, 2022 I 2 Safar, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 61 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
IMF approves $1.17 bIllIon loan For pakIstan g
total loan size increased to $7 billion ISLAMABAD
t
Shahzad PaRacha
he international Monetary fund (iMf) on Monday revived pakistan’s programme and its board approved the revival of extended fund facility (eff) program for disbursement of $1.17 billion for seventh and eight tranche. the global lender also approved to increase the loan size to around $7 billion and extended it till june 2023. finance Minister Miftah ismail took to social media blogging site, twitter, to congratulate the nation over the development. all executive directors supported pakistan’s request for loan approval and extension except india that abstained from the voting. the board members raised questions over the reversal of the commitments that pakistan had given in february this year but acknowledged the politically difficult steps that pakistan took to revive the programme. the board has approved completion of the combined 7th and 8th review under the eff and release of the tranche of sdr 894 million or $1.17 billion, according to the pakistani officials.
the board has also approved the extension of the programme through end-june 2023, and augmentation of access by sdr 720 million or $930 million. with the augmentation, the programme size has been increased to the sdr4.988 billion, which is equivalent to 245.6 per cent of quota of pakistan. the iMf board expressed condolences and sympathies with pakistani authorities over the tragic loss of lives and livelihoods caused by the floods in the country, according to the sources. the board appreciated that pakistani government made efforts to put the programme back on track and renewed commitment to programme policies and targets. as per the commitment, pakistan will have to show primary budget surplus target of rs153 billion or 0.2% of the gdp, until it is mutually revised in consultation with the iMf staff. the sources said that the executive directors representing the uae, saudi arabia and Qatar also gave assurances to provide additional financing to pakistan, as agreed between islamabad and the iMf staff. the previous government of the pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (pti) had signed
the 39-month eff in july 2019 aimed at avoiding default on foreign repayment obligations. however, the country remained in turmoil and despite remaining in the iMf programme, its foreign exchange reserves remained thin amid heightened external debt-related vulnerabilities. due to faulty eff programme design, unrealistic targets and lack of political commitment to implement what former premier and pti chief imran Khan had himself agreed to, the programme remained suspended for almost two years out of three years. PM coMMENdS MIfTAh: commending finance Minister Miftah ismail and his team and other stakeholders for their hard work over the issue, prime Minister shehbaz sharif in a twitter post said: “the formal resumption of an iMf programme is a major step forward in our efforts to put pakistan’s economy back on track. it is outcome of an excellent team effort.” it is pertinent to note that the executive board meeting of the international Monetary fund considered the provision of credit to pakistan’s bailout package and approved the 7th and 8th tranche of $1.17 billion
besides extending the program for one more year. previously in july iMf had reached a staff-level agreement with pakistan paving the way for the disbursement of $1.17 billion, subject to approval by the iMf’s executive board. “the iMf team has reached a staff-level agreement (sla) with the pakistan authorities for the conclusion
Petrol price likely to go down for first half of September 2022 g
govt so far has not adjusted the exchange loss which is rs23 per litre on petrol ISLAMABAD ahmad ahmadaNI
the price of petrol is likely to go down in the range of rs14 to 20 per litre while the price of high-speed diesel (hsd) may be jacked up between rs1 to 4 per litre for the first fifteen days of september 2022. however, there will be no reduction in petrol price in the next fortnight if the government increases the petroleum levy (pl) and adjusts the arrears of exchange loss on the free on board (fob) basis, said sources in the oil industr y on Monday. sources said that petrol price is likely to be decreased in the range of rs14 to 20 per litre while the price of hsd is expected to go up between rs1 to 4 per litre. they said that the cash-starved government may jack up the pl and is also likely to adjust the arrears of exchange loss in petroleum prices for the first half of september. they said if the government increases the pl and adjusts the arrears of exchange loss then there are less chances that the price of petrol would go down while the hsd price may witness substantial hike if the government imposes sales tax on the sale of diesel in the first fifteen days of september 2022.
however, the petrol price has witnessed a cut in the global oil market, said the sources in the oil industry. they added that the government has so far not adjusted the exchange loss which is at rs23 per litre on petrol and rs13 on diesel. inflation-hit masses might not receive the benefit of petroleum price cut in the international oil market particularly of petrol and may face a hike in the price of diesel during the first half of september 2022, said sources. they added that the government is likely to collect rs60 billion in the month
of september on account of pl and rs31 billion under the head gst. reportedly, the government is more likely to collect 10.5 percent gst which is frozen for the last six months and rs30 per litre petroleum levy, in addition to the collection of dealers and distribution companies’ margins. it is pertinent to mention that the petrol is currently available at rs233.91 per litre, diesel at rs244.44 per litre, kerosene oil at rs199.40 per litre, and light diesel oil is being sold at rs191.75 per litre in pakistan.
of the combined seventh and eighth reviews of the eff-supported program. the agreement is subject to approval by the iMf’s executive board. subject to board approval, about $1,177 million (sdr 894 million) will become available, bringing total disbursements under the program to about $4.2 billion,” the iMf said in a statement at the time.
Gill willing to apologise, clear misunderstanding on comments: lawyer ISLAMABAD INP
shahbaz gill, chief of staff to former prime minister imran Khan, is willing to apologise for his remarks criticising the army, his lawyer told a district and sessions court in islamabad as it resumed hearing on his bail plea in the so-called sedition case on Monday. on august 9, gill was arrested from islamabad a day after making the comments on arY news. he was subsequently booked on charges of sedition and inciting members of state institutions against the pakistan army. at the outset of the hearing, the islamabad police presented the case record in court as directed by the judge at the last hearing of his bail plea. additional district and sessions judge zafar iqbal resumed the hearing on the bail plea this morning. during the hearing, gill’s lawyer burhan Moazzam asked if he can see the case records submitted in court by inspector arshad. the court directed the inspector to show the record to the lawyer. however, prosecutor raja rizwan abbasi objected that they cannot show the supplementary challan of the case. later, the court adjourned the hearing shortly. after the hearing restarted, gill’s lawyer maintained that the police didn’t show the statement recorded under section 161. “the police is showing all statements except for gill’s,” the lawyer said. at this, the court directed the police to show gill’s initial statement to the defence lawyer. in the last hearing, the islamabad court gave the capital’s police the last chance to submit records pertaining to the sedition case against the pti leader by Monday with his lawyers terming the delay “unfortunate”. the police, during that day’s hearing, told the court that the investigation officer — who is in Karachi and has the records — could not be reached and his phone has also been switched off. special prosecutor rizwan abbas told the court that he wanted to see the records first before he could present his arguments. at this, gill’s lawyers said that it was “extremely unfortunate” that the police were delaying the matter. in response, additional district and sessions judge tahir Mahmood supra said that he was giving one “last chance” to the police to present the records by today (Monday).
PM calls for utilisation of resources for rescue, relocation of flood victims NOWSHERA Staff RePoRt
prime Minister shehbaz sharif on Monday directed the authorities to utilise allout resources for immediate rescue and relocation of the flood-hit people. the prime minister, who arrived here to review the rescue and relief activities in the flood-ravaged cities of Khyber pakhtunkhwa, was briefed about the flood situation in the Kabul river. shehzad bangash, chief secretary of Khyber pakhtunkhwa, deputy commissioner of nowshera, and representatives from ndMa and pdMa briefed the prime minister about the rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations in now-
shera district following the devastating flood of august 27 that wreaked havoc to people’s lives and properties besides infrastructure, crops and livestock. during the briefing at Mardan bridge, the authorities apprised sharif of the ongoing rescue and relief operation as well as other facilities being provided to the displaced people at the relief camps. he was told that medical camps had also been established to provide required medical support to the flood victims staying at camps as well as at their own houses. he was informed that 70 relief and 11 medical camps were established for flood victims at jhangira tehsils, pabbi and nowshera and assistance
was being provided to the affectees. the prime minister was informed that the stoppage of tarbela dam’s water had helped to pass off the flow of floods in river Kabul without inflicting further losses. the prime minister was accompanied by members of his cabinet including Murtaza javed abbasi, amir Muqam and ikhtiar wali Khan. later, the prime minister left for charsadda where he would interact with the flood victims and distribute cheques of assistance among the flood victims. later, he is also scheduled to visit the site of Mohmand dam where he would be briefed about the progress on the project’s execution.