Monday, 19 September, 2022 I 22 Safar, 1444 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XIII No 81 I 44 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Polls to be held in time ‘come what may’, shehbaz, nawaz agree g
PM SET TO PARTICIPATE IN 77TH UNGA SESSION BEING HELD FROM TODAy
ISLAMABAD/LONDON
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staff report
RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with the former prime minister and Quaid Pakistan Muslim League (N) Nawaz Sharif here on Sunday and exchanged views on different matters. According to party sources, during the meeting the PML-N leaders had agreed that
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ATTENDS RECEPTION HOSTED By KING CHARLES III FOR WORLD LEADERS
elections would be held in time and no pressure from any person and side would not be accepted at all in this regard. They also discussed the relief and rehabilitation activities of the flood-hit people and areas in the country. Later talking to media men, Shehbaz said friendly countries were extending assistance to the flood affectees. The PM said the relief goods were arriving on airplanes, trains, and ships, adding people
of Pakistan were also giving donations and that the federal and provincial governments were performing their roles in the relief and rehabilitation of the flood-hit people. The coalition government had allocated Rs70 billion and was giving Rs25,000 each to the affected families, through the Benazir Income Support Programme, he informed. Shehbaz Sharif said the government was providing clean water, food, tents and other essential items to the flood victims through national and provincial disaster management authorities. “The whole nation and the armed forces are helping the flood affectees.” Earlier, PM arrives in London to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. At the invitation of the British government, the prime minister, during his visit to UK, would represent Pakistan at the state funeral of late Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press release. After the stay in the United Kingdom, the prime minister will leave for the United States to participate in the high-level debate of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). According to BBC, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth will take place at 11:00 BST on Monday, 19 September. It will be held at Westminster Abbey in London, the historic church where Britain’s kings and queens are crowned.
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New COAS to be installed through ‘set traditional way’: Asif LONDON/ISLAMABAD staff report
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that the appointment of the army chief would take place on the same pattern that was being practiced for years and that the consultation process would begin in November. “The appointment of the army chief will be in accordance with the Constitution and the law,” the defence minister said while talking to media persons outside PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif’s London residence where he arrived accompanying Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif. Premier Shehbaz is in London to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Asif said that the army chief’s loyalty was with the country and he was not under any politician, adding that he also had his loyalty to his institution. “He (army chief) is the one who commands 700,000 officers who are ready to sacrifice their lives on his call,” Asif said, adding that his position should not be made a part of any controversy, especially a political one. Asif said that the defence ministry and the GHQ would consult on the appointment of the
next chief of army staff by October-end and after that the decision will be made. The defence minister said that the appointment of the next COAS was a routine matter and it was for the first time in history that PTI Chairman Imran Khan was raising a ‘hue and cry’ over the issue. “The Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf and Imran Khan want institutions to intervene. “Imran proposed postponing the appointment until after the general election and grant an extension [to Gen Bajwa],” the defence minister said. Asif also told the media per-
sons that he would prefer Nawaz to come home immediately. However, he added that it should be ensured that the PML-N supremo should be granted justice for the injustices he faced back home. The minister said his government was not “running away” from elections. “We want polls to be held under the Constitution and the law.” Asif said Imran had been giving similar statements when he had just one seat in parliament. According to Article 243(3) of the Constitution, the president appoints the services chiefs on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Saudi Arabia rolls over $3b deposits for one year ISLAMABAD staff report
The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) on Sunday confirmed the rollover of a $3 billion deposit for Pakistan, which will mature on December 5, for a period of one year. The announcement was made by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on its official Twitter account. According to the tweet, the deposit is placed with the central bank whereas the funds will now become part of the country’s forex reserves. “This reflects the continuing strong and special relationship between KSA and Pakistan,” the statement added. It may be recalled that the deposit agreement was made between Pakistan and the Kingdom in November 2021, in a bid to support Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves and contribute toward resolving the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement was signed by SFD Chief Executive Officer Sultan Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Marshad and former SBP governor Dr Reza Baqir at the State Bank in Karachi. A month before the agreement was signed, the KSA had agreed to revive its financial support to Pakistan, including about $3bn in safe deposits and $1.2bn worth of oil supplies on deferred payments. As of September 9, SBP’s foreign currency reserves were recorded at $8,624.0 million, down by $176 million compared with $8,799.9 million on September 2. On September 16, the Pakistani rupee registered a decline for the 11th consecutive session, closing the week at 236.84 against the greenback.
‘Govt won’t bow to ‘bullies’ of PTI chief’ ISLAMABAD: Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir Khan on Sunday said that Imran Khan could not pressurize the state by making unconstitutional demands. The government would not bow down to bullies of the PTI Chief and would take all decisions as per the constitution, he stated while talking to a private television channel here. The minister said Imran Khan has quit the parliament without caring the public mandate given to him and now he has neither legal nor moral obligation to interfere in the national’s affairs. He said PTI Chief was only power hungry and nothing to do with the problems being faced by the people due to flash floods that brought havoc in the country. staff report
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Pakistan spent 84.65% budget on repayment of debt, interest payments ISLAMABAD shahzad paracha
Pakistan has spent Rs18486.19 billion (84.65%) out of Rs21837.24 billion total expenditures on repayment of debt and interest payments during fiscal year 2020-21. According to documents, a high percentage of expenditure 95.74% is expended on general public service which includes 84.65% (18,486.19 billion) on repayment of principal debt and interest payments. On the other hand, the Federal government left with a meager percentage of 13.99% (Rs3150.65 billion) of total expenditure for socio economic functions other than general public service though it is comparatively higher than last year 7.81% (Rs3846.443 billion). Document shows that the percentage of Defence Affairs & Services was 0.03% (Rs5.98 billion) out of total expenditures as per the Federal audit jurisdiction, Public order and safety affairs 0.86% (Rs187.95 billion), Economic Af-
fairs 1.20% (Rs262.01 billion), Environmental protections 0.03% (Rs6.38 billion) , Housing and Community amenities 0.04% (Rs8.59 billion), Health 0.23% (Rs51.21 billion), Recreation, Culture and religion 0.05% (Rs11.68 billion), Education 0.57% (Rs124 billion) and social protection 1.24% (Rs271.09 billion). Over the past five years there has been a gradual decrease in domestic floating debt from Rs14.13 trillion to Rs13.81 trillion. However, this year there was a reasonable dip in receipt of domestic floating debt that declined to Rs13.81 trillion as compared to last year’s receipt of Rs14.13 trillion. Domestic permanent debt also decreased to Rs0.96 trillion as compared to Rs1.23 trillion last year and foreign debt decreased from Rs1.36 trillion to Rs0.96 trillion last year. Federal government is reducing the floating debt and mainly relying on domestic permanent debt in the total debt mix. The retirement of debt shows that this year the federal government paid off
Rs13.81 trillion of floating debt, Rs0.96 trillion of domestic permanent debt as well as Rs0.96 trillion of foreign debt. To meet its expenditure, the federal government mainly relied on borrowings in the shape of public debt which contributed Rs19965.38 billion (84.60%) of total receipt. There is less reliance on borrowings as compared to last year when the public debt to the tune of Rs19432.39 billion (85.59%) was part of the total receipts. Receipts of the public debt are further divided into domestic floating debt, domestic permanent debt and foreign debt. The total tax receipts for the financial year 2020-21 are Rs3472.10 billion in comparison to last year’s Rs4209.696 billion. Provincial share under NFC award amounting to Rs2644.627 billion was transferred to provinces leaving behind Rs2057.582 billion for the federal government. This was Rs149.80 billion less than the original target of Rs2207.383 billion though Rs727 billion more than the last year collection of Rs1479.857 billion.
There was a nominal growth in sales tax, Federal Excise and Income tax receipts, Customs duty and other increased to Rs2057.582 billion when compared with the previous financial year 2019-20. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, an amount of Rs1149.95 billion (27% of tax receipt) was booked as tax expenditure which was a lost oppor-
tunity. Last year the amount booked as tax expenditure was Rs1314.273 billion which was 37.85% of the tax receipt. On the other hand, the government is experiencing a decline in the receipt of Defence services and other non-tax receipts. Strenuous efforts are required to increase the non tax receipts of the government as well as the tax receipts in order to reduce dependency on debt.