thursday, 1 december, 2022 i 7 Jamadi Awwal, 1444 i rs 15.00 | vol Xiii no 152 i 12 Pages i islamabad edition
Govt vows to make economy interest-free in five years: Dar g
oBServeS CouNTry fACiNG CurreNT ACCouNT ANd BudGeT defiCiT
ISLAMABAD
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staff report
ederAl Minister for finance and revenue ishaq dar has said the government is determined to promote islamic finance and eliminate the interest-based system in the country. he was addressing a conference titled “hurmat- e- Sood” in karachi on Wednesday. finance Minister said that the country is needed at five years to move towards an ‘interest-free’ banking system under islamic law. The minister informed the participants that a special wing would be set up at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for the promotion of an interest-free system. “i would notify the wing in a week’s time,” he added. The finance minister lauded the federal Shariah Court (fSC) decision, saying that the “A base has been already been established, as islamic banking, in terms of overall assets and deposits, enjoys a market share of 20% and 21%, respectively,” said dar, while adding that further progress needs to be made in this regard. ishaq dar said that significant progress is required in non-banking sectors including mutual funds, insurance and capital markets on islamic terms. dar said that attempts are made worldwide to improve financial inclusion. “in this regard, we made considerable progress during our previous stint and approximately 30% of the population became part of the banking sector,” he said adding that steps
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GovT deCideS To keeP PriCeS of PeTroleuM ProduCTS uNChANGed
are being taken that every individual is included in the financial system. The finance minister observed that the country is facing twin deficits i.e. current account and budget deficit. “There is a need to impose a fiscal discipline. We need to increase our incomes while rationalising our expenses in order to the budget deficit,” he added. he also assured that resolutions of the seminar would be shared with the Prime Minister. earlier this month, dar announced that the government had reached an understanding with the SBP and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to repeal their appeals against the fSC order to implement islamic banking system in Pakistan by 2027. on April 28, 2022, the fSC had ruled that elimination of interest from the economic system was a religious and legal responsibility, ordering the government to end the interest-based banking system by the end of 2027. The decision was made on petitions against riba (usury) after the Supreme Court referred the case back to the court in 2002 following appeals against the decision of the fSC. GOvt deCideS tO keeP PriCeS Of PetrOleuM PrOduCtS unChAnGed: The federal government for the third consecutive time announced to keep prices of petroleum products unchanged despite a declining trend in the international market. finance minister ishaq dar in a briefing said that the government has decided to keep prices of petroleum products unchanged for next quarter till
december 15, 2022. The new prices of petrol and diesel will be rs224.80 as well as rs235.30. on the other hand, the finance minister also announced to reduce rs7.5 light diesel and rs10 kerosene oil per litre. it is pertinent to note that the government is charging rs50 per litre Petroleum development levy on petrol and rs12.59 per litre on diesel. Meanwhile, there is no sales tax on petroleum products. he also announced to extend the date of income tax returns for another one month till december 15, 2022. The minister urged the people to take advantage of this opportunity and file their tax returns at the earliest. iShAq dAr APPreCiAteS tiMely PrOviSiOn Of $500 MilliOn by Aiib: federal Minister for finance and revenue Senator Mohammad ishaq dar on Wednesday appreciated the timely provision of $500 million transferred by the Asian infrastructure investment Bank (AiiB) to Pakistan. This appreciation he made while meeting with the Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmad at Governor house, karachi, today. SAPM on finance Tariq Bajwa and other senior officers of the Ministry of finance attended the meeting. it was shared that this financing would contribute in maintaining the external account stability, said a press release issued here. he further said that the market had responded positively to the inflow of AiiB loans and hoped the further inflows in the pipeline from international financial institutions and friendly countries would boost our foreign reserves. finance Minister Senator Mohammad ishaq dar discussed various measures taken by the federal government to stabilize the economy and hoped that the results of these measures would soon be reflected in enhanced economic activity. The Governor State Bank shared various steps taken by SBP in this regard. he commended the efforts of the present government for bringing efficiency, stability, and growth to the economy of Pakistan. he highlighted that SBP is fully committed to support the process of economic revival as per the policies of the present government. in conclusion, the Governor SBP thanked the finance minister for the continuous support by the present government for the policy initiatives taken by the State Bank of Pakistan.
COAS, JCSC chairman call on President Alvi, PM Shehbaz ISLAMABAD staff report
Newly-appointed Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir called on President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif separately. Both CJCSC General Shamshad and Army Chief General Asim Munir separately called on President Alvi at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday. The duo also called on Prime Minister separately. They exchanged views on national security and discussed professional matters pertaining to Army. The president and premier congratulated the new military leadership on assuming their respective offices.
Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to resume work on stalled projects KABUL anadolu agency
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to resume work on several projects that have been stalled, including a four-nation energy corridor. The much-awaited agreement was reached during a meeting between deputy foreign Minister hina rabbani khar and acting Afghan foreign Minister Maulvi Amir khan Muttaqi in kabul on Tuesday, said separate statements from the two countries’ foreign ministries. khar, who arrived in kabul on Tuesday morning for a day-long visit, met with top interim Taliban government leadership, including acting deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam hanafi and acting Minister for Mines and Petroleum Shahabuddin delawar, as well as delegation-level talks with Muttaqi and his team. kabul’s top diplomat informed khar that his country is ready to resume work on the TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-india (TAPi) gas pipeline project, the CASA1,000 (Central Asia-South Asia power project), the Trans-Afghan rail project, and other projects that have been on hold for a long time. The $7 billion TAPi project, which was supposed to be completed by the end of 2017, has been pushed back due to the Taliban’s war against the uS-backed Afghan regime, which ended in August last year. A 1,600-kilometer (994-mile)
pipeline will transport 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Turkmenistan to the three South Asian countries. While CASA-1000 is a $1.16 billion project currently under construction, it will allow surplus hydroelectricity from kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to be exported to Afghanistan and then to Pakistan. The acting Afghan foreign minister, for his part, highlighted issues pertaining to the release of imprisoned Afghan refugees in different Pakistani jails, bilateral and transit trade, and treatment of refugees in Pakistan, said a statement issued by his ministry in kabul. According to the statement, khar assured the Afghan side that islamabad would take immediate steps to resolve these issues. Although Pakistan is thought to have had some influence over the Taliban, the two sides are still struggling to resolve a number of longstanding issues, including cross-border attacks on security forces and fencing of a 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) porous border between the two neighbours. Afghanistan does not recognize the de facto border region between the two countries, commonly known as durand line, on the grounds that it was created by a British colonial regime “to divide ethnic Pashtuns”. islamabad, however, maintains that the durand line is a permanent border between the two neighbouring countries.