Monday, 12 December, 2022 I 18 Jamadi Awwal, 1444 I Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 163 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
REKO DIQ PROJECT DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
ECC dirECts sOEs tO dEpOsit $22.7m intErEst in EsCrOw aCCOunt g
finAnce division Authorized to ArrAnge interest pAyAble for govt of bAlochistAn profit report Shahzad Paracha
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he economic coordination committee (ecc) of the cabinet on sunday authorized finance division to direct government holding private limited (ghpl), ogdcl and ppl to
deposit late payment interest amount of $22.7 million in escrow account jointly operated by Antofagasta plc and government of pakistan in connection with reko diq project dispute settlement. sources said that the ministry of energy has asked the ecc to authorize the finance division to direct ghpl (for its own as well as gob’s share), ogdcl and ppl to deposit the aggregate
Six civilians martyred in cross-border firing by Afghan Border Forces: ISPR
rAWALpiNDi Staff rePort
six persons were killed and 17 others sustained injuries on sunday when Afghan border forces resorted to “unprovoked and indiscriminate fire” across the border on civilian population in chaman district of balochistan, the ispr – the army’s media wing said. pakistan army’s media wing, the inter-services public relation (ispr) confirmed in a statement on sunday that Afghan border forces opened “unprovoked and indiscriminate” fire with heavy weapons including ar-
tillery and mortar onto civilian population in chaman area of balochistan. According to the inter-services public relations (ispr), heavy weapons including artillery and mortars were used in the firing by Afghan forces. “pakistani border troops have given befitting albeit measured response against the uncalled for aggression but avoided targeting innocent civilians in the area,” the statement said. it added that pakistani authorities have approached their counterparts in kabul to highlight the “severity” of the situation, demanding “strict action to obvi-
ate any such recurrence of the incident in future.” EMERgENcy IMPoSED IN chAMAN, QuEttA hoSPItAlS: the chaman district administration imposed an emergency in all hospitals to treat injured persons. while levies balochistan officials said that the Afghan taliban made a target of the civilian area of pakistan in which many innocent people were killed and injured badly. the levies balochistan officials said the Afghan taliban hit the pakistani residential area with mortar shells. chaman district police officer (dpo) Abdullah Ali kasi informed that the firing began after a mortar shell was fired into pakistani territory. “All the injured were moved to dhQ hospital chaman except four critically injured have been transferred to Quetta”, he added. An emergency was imposed in Quetta civil hospital on the directions of health secretary saleh muhammad nasir. the secretary has called doctors, pharmacists, staff nurses, and paramedical staff of the civil sandman hospital, Quetta, bolan medical hospital, Quetta, and trauma center to their respective duty wards. balochistan chief minister Abdul Quddus bizenjo expressed concern over the incident. “i hope the federal government will ensure an immediate and effective solution to this problem at the diplomatic level.” he ordered the district administration of chaman to provide full support to the people affected. on november 13, the chaman border was closed for an indefinite period after an armed suspect from the Afghan side opened fire on pakistani security personnel at friendship gate, resulting in the martyrdom of one soldier and injuries to two.
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AgendA items ApprovAl pAves wAy for eArly stArt of work on project
amount of interest amounting to $22.7 million in the escrow account. this represents the interest payable of $16.8 million at us prime rate plus 2% from october 1, 2022 to december 15, 2022 and the interest earned from march 31, 2022 to september 30, 2022 amounting to $5.8 million. the interest payable is based on prevailing us prime rate, however, the actual deposit will be
based on the updated calculations due to any change in interest rates to be informed by the financial advisors of soes and gop if required. presently, the soes including ogdcl have to pay $4.7 million interest, ppl $4.7 million, ghpl $4.7 million while the government of balochistan share in interest payment is $8.5 million.
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